Red Rose
by Agent of Gallifrey
Summary: SERIES 4 SPOILERS! The Doctor left Rose in a parallel universe along with his newly-grown twin. The Doctor then went on to continue exploring his own universe, but what happened to the duo after he left them on Bad Wolf Bay? What does the duplicate Doctor do now that he is without his TARDIS? After all, he has already vanquished his foes, the Daleks - or has he?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Doctor Who. But if anyone out there's interested in selling...**

**Just as a point of interest, this story is already finished and will be updated daily (one chapter per day) unless popular opinion demands I do otherwise. So have a seat, grab a snack, and allons-y!**

"Oi, could you lend us a hand here?" Rose asked impatiently.

"Sorry?" replied the Doctor, clearly just coming out of a daydream.

"I said, could you lend me a hand with the dishes?" she answered slowly, as if talking to a child. "You can wash them and I'll put 'em away, yeah?"

He nodded absently in reply, and wandered over to the sink where Rose was standing. Slowly, the Doctor picked up the rag and began scrubbing the dirty plates, still staring off into space.

"Doctor, what's up with you? It's like you're not even here." For the past few months, ever since they had defeated Davros and stopped his Reality Bomb, the Doctor's half-human double had been living on the parallel Earth with Rose and her family. Rose was delighted to have him back, but lately the Doctor had been spending all of his time just wandering around London or sitting idly on the couch, which was not like him at all.

"What? Oh, nothing. Just thinking, is all." They finished the dishes in silence, and the Doctor said, "Well, I'm off to bed. See you in the morning."

"Doctor, it's not even ten o'clock yet. How about a cup of tea?"

"No, I'm pretty tired. G'night."

"Night, then!" Rose had to shout, as he was already halfway down the hallway. She watched until he turned into his room.

"Oi, what's all the shouting about then?" Rose's mother, Jackie, came out of one of the bedrooms and looked at her daughter. "I just got Tony to sleep, don't you go waking him up now!"

"Sorry, mum, I was just talking to the Doctor."

The expression on her face must have given away how she was feeling, because Jackie replied, "Oh, sweetheart, what's wrong? You're not still on about that thing with your father, are you? I tell you what, if he's upset you that much-"

"No, mum, it's not about Dad," Rose said, cutting her off. "It's just… I don't think the Doctor likes it here. Like, being stuck in one place, you know? I mean, he's used to flying 'round the universe, stopping invasions, and now he's just... stuck."

"Well, whatchu mean about stopping aliens and such? This Doctor hasn't never done any of that stuff. He grew off of a hand, for goodness sakes!" She waved her own around in the air to prove her point.

"Yeah, but he's got all the same memories as the other Doctor. He can remember doing all that stuff! He must be bored out of his mind, with no aliens or anything to fight off. And it's not like he can go looking for trouble, either," she added as an afterthought.

"How come? There's got to be loads of people trying to invade Earth."

"Mum, he's only got one heart. If he dies, that's it! He can't regenerate, so he's got to live like the rest of us now." At that point, they could hear Tony wake up in the other room and start crying.

"Yeah?" Jackie said as she started down the hall. "Then why doesn't he get a job, start helping out around here?" She turned the corner into the room to calm her son.

_Why didn't I think of that?_ thought Rose. After all, it wouldn't exactly be hard for him to get a job with all of the skills he had. _And,_ she said to herself, _he'll be able to pay for a date once in a while_. Since they had become trapped in the same universe together, they had gone on a few "normal" dates. Normal only because they didn't involve saving the world or rescuing historical figures (we're looking at you, Charles Dickens).

_I suppose I'll talk to him in the morning,_ she thought as she made her way to her bedroom at the end of the long hallway.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Rose awoke a little earlier than normal. She lay in bed for a minute, then, remembering her conversation the night before, got up and dressed herself. Upon opening her door, she heard a frustrated cry followed by shrieks of laughter, and saw the whole scene as she entered the kitchen. It seemed that her little brother, Tony, had decided that no, he didn't want breakfast and it should therefore be thrown around the room. Jackie spotted her daughter and said, "Rose, thank goodness you're up. I've got to go to work, would you mind feeding Tony and dropping him off at daycare? Thanks, love you!" Rose barely had time to protest before she was handed a spoon and her mother was out the door. Hearing stifled laughter, she turned around to see the Doctor, sitting at the table, reading a book and drinking orange juice.<p>

"Whatchu laughing at, then?" she asked him accusingly. He stopped, and Rose tried to convince her brother to eat his cereal, but no sooner had she handed him the spoon than the bowl was on the floor, upside down, with milk everywhere.

"It would seem that he doesn't like Frosted Mini-Wheats," said the Doctor looking up from his book to stare at Rose. "Here, let me help." He got up, opened the cabinet, and pulled out a box of kids' cereal. "Hey, Tony, do you like this? 'Spect you would, as it's 63 percent sugar," he commented, reading the back of the box. Getting a new bowl, the Doctor poured the new cereal and gave it to Tony. The toddler picked up his spoon and ate, not stopping until the bowl was empty.

"When'd you get so good around kids? Tony's been here two years and I'm still rubbish with him."

"Well, I am 900 years old, I expect at some point I've run across a fussy two year old." He knelt down to clean up the rejected cereal, and Rose took her chance to mention her mother's idea.

"So Doctor, do you ever get bored, just hanging around here all day?"

"Not really," he said. "I mean, I do stuff 'round the house, go out for walks-"

"Only Mum reckons, and I agree with her, that you might like to get a job, you know? Give you something to do during the day."

The Doctor paused in his cleaning to look quizzically at her.

"I don't know, Rose. What kind of job should I get?"

"Well, you're good with kids, and you're smart. You could get a teaching job, you know, at some local school or something." Rose glanced at the clock. "Speaking of, I've got to get to work. Come on," she said as she lifted Tony out of his high chair. " Let's get you washed up, then."

"You're not, you know, "said the Doctor, leaning against the counter as Rose perched her squirming brother on her hip and did her best to wipe away the milk smeared on his chubby cheeks.

"What?"

"Rubbish with kids. I bet you'd be a great mum someday." He said it without looking up, but it made Rose feel strange, almost embarrassed, and she could feel her face go red. Hurrying to finish washing Tony and load him into the car with all his necessary supplies, she left without saying goodbye.

* * *

><p>After dropping her brother off at daycare, Rose drove herself to work at Torchwood Institute. She was an agent there, studying alien artefacts and building defencive weapons. Working there had given her an anchor when she first came to the parallel universe, a sense of purpose in a seemingly pointless existence without the Doctor by her side. The work of a Torchwood agent was a small connection to the life she had known since that first night when the Doctor grabbed her hand and told her to run from the Living Plastic, and normally she looked forward to work, but it was a slow day full of paperwork and she was relieved when it was time to go home. Knowing her mother was working late, she instinctively headed for the daycare and picked up Tony before returning to the house. As she struggled to open the front door with her hands full of nappy bags and two-year-old, it whisked open and she was greeted by a surprise.<p>

"Hello, Rose!" said the Doctor enthusiastically as he stepped aside to let her in. "Here, let me take Tony for you." He took the toddler out of her arms and brought the giggling infant upstairs.

"Dad, what's wrong with the Doctor?" Rose asked, weary from her tedious day of work and genuinely concerned at the Doctor's drastic change in behavior from that morning. "He hasn't been, like, experimenting on himself or nothing, has he?" Pete Tyler chuckled to himself from his chair in the kitchen, but said nothing.

"I told him to give it a rest, and if he's been-" She was cut off as the Doctor bounded down the stairs and almost ran into her. He suddenly stood very straight, adjusted his tie, and buttoned up his trademark suit jacket.

"Miss Tyler," he said, his boyish grin sneaking in to an otherwise serious moment, "would you like to accompany me to the theatre tonight and then to a dinner for two?"

"I don't know, Doctor. Are you asking me out on a date?" Rose's mind was still swimming from her workday struggles and the screaming tantrum Tony had thrown in the car when she turned off the radio after the same song came on for the third time.

"I most certainly am. Do you accept my invitation?"

Rose hesitated, weighing her tiredness against the chance to spend some time alone with the Doctor, a feat that was difficult in a house with five people, one of which required constant supervision.

"I do." She declared, and a look passed briefly over the Doctor's face that was hard to read; she couldn't tell if it was happiness, or something more akin to surprise.

"Ah… Yes! Terrific! Very well then, I shall pick you up at 6:30!"

"Doctor, it's already 25 past."

"Well, I suppose we ought to get going, then. Allons-y!" He held out his arm and Rose took it, still wondering what was behind the sudden change of mood.


	2. Chapter 2

After seeing an action film about superheroes fighting off aliens, the Doctor asked Rose for her car keys.

"What for?" She asked, dubious. She had travelled in the TARDIS enough not to trust the Doctor's abilities when it came to transportation, and she had just finished paying off her little blue Bug that she'd fallen in love with when she first arrived in that world. Something about the colour, the personality, and the amazing ability to fit a large number of things in the seemingly small boot had drawn her to it, and she was now very fond of what she affectionately called "Teddy" - a play off of TARDIS.

But the Doctor simply slipped the key from her grasp with one hand, the other pulling a handkerchief from his pocket which he tied around her eyes. Blindfolded, Rose let herself be led to the car and giggled as the Doctor drove them through the city, having her guess where he was taking her. While a much smoother ride than the TARDIS, the drive was not quite as easy as it should have been, owing to the Doctor's tendency to get distracted by Rose's tongue-in-teeth smile and her playful teasing. Arriving safely at their destination, Rose took off her blindfold and gasped. They were at a five-star restaurant, one of the most expensive in the city.

"Well, Rose, I've got a reservation for two tonight. Shall we go in?" She slipped her hand in his as they walked in and were seated by a waitress at a small table in the corner, with two lit candles and a bottle of champagne. The Doctor pulled out a chair for Rose and, once they had both sat down, poured them each a drink. They smiled at each other over menus, Rose flashing a bemused smile as the Doctor struggled over what to order, still not accustomed to human food. Settling on the salmon, the Doctor ordered for the two of them and they spent the meal chatting about this and that, Rose's curiosity growing with each moment.

"So? What's the occasion then?" She couldn't wait any longer. The Doctor's faraway mind that morning, his enthusiastic greeting after work, and the indecipherable look that had passed over his face when Rose accepted his invitation were knocking at the back of her mind, just waiting for an explanation. "Are we celebrating something?"

"Well, yeah. In a way, we are," replied the Doctor. "You see, for the past few months I've been working odd jobs during the day. You know, temp jobs, substitute teaching, that kind of thing, and saving up my money. Funny stuff, money. Never needed it before."

"Is that how you managed to afford this place?" Rose was impressed that the Doctor had managed to keep his work a secret from her. She was, after all, a Torchwood agent, and usually prided herself on her skills of observation. But something about the Doctor always gave her pause, puzzled her. He was one mystery she wasn't going to solve easily.

"Well, yes ...with a little help from Pete. But anyway, I had an interview with the school I've been subbing at and I got a permanent job. Teaching. Grade 8 history."

Rose was surprised, then her face broke into a dazzling smile. _He's finally finding his place!_

"That's great! When do you start?"

"Next Monday. But, um, that's not the only reason I brought you here tonight." His eyes widened and he leaned forward, reaching across the table to take Rose's hands in his own. _It's funny,_ she thought, staring at his right hand. _That's all he was for a while, a hand. Weird._

"Rose… Well, I really don't know what to say, or how to begin. When I first met you in that shop, you were just another stupid human who needed saving, and I was happy to oblige, but I didn't think anything of it. But I was wrong. Oh, so wrong. You're amazing, you are. You're brilliant! You've faced Daleks and Cybermen, and you didn't even blink! That's the thing about you humans. You just run into danger, just like that, you don't even think. But you…Well, what… What I mean to say is… I love you."

Rose blinked. Had she really just heard the words she'd been imagining him saying for months? The words she had heard only once before, whispered in her ear on a beach as her heart tore between two men who were the same yet different. Her mind searched for a response, processing a thousand thoughts and emotions, and she remembered everything she'd gone through to find her way back to this man that she loved, but never quite knew where she stood with. Waiting for months, searching with Mickey and Torchwood for a way back to the place that held her heart. Finally finding her way across the stars, across the universe, fleeing the darkness and searching for the one man who could stop it, only to find the Doctor dead and his would-be companion travelling a foreign timeline. Her determination as she jumped through time, repairing the past and ultimately finding the Doctor. Her despair as she watched him struck by the Dalek's laser, and her ferocity after being kidnapped and held hostage by the Daleks as they tried to end the universe. She had endured all this, finally reunited with her beloved Doctor and living again with her family. The days had passed and she'd waited for the Doctor to reaffirm the feelings he'd whispered on that beach, but each day ended with nothing. Now, to finally hear the words she'd been preparing herself for months to hear, she was rendered speechless. But the Doctor continued his speech, words bubbling out of his mouth as they always did when he got excited, his mind racing and his one human heart working double time.

"There you go. I said it. I love you, Rose Tyler, and I always will. Ever since you stepped into the TARDIS that first time, I've known you were special. Oh, Rose Tyler, you're the most special human being on this planet - in this universe! In any universe! You saved my life, Rose, more times than you know. I'll never forget Satellite 5 - the glow of the time stream running through you, what you did was amazing. And even after we were apart… and I never stopped looking, I couldn't. But _you _figured it out, Rose. _You _did it. My brilliant Rose Tyler! And now I've found you again - Oh, I'm never letting you go!" He leapt up from his chair, keeping hold of both her hands with one of his and fishing in his coat pocket, where he usually kept his sonic screwdriver. That's what she expected him to pull out, but instead, in his hand there was a small black box. His energy beaming off him like the sun, he knellt down in front of Rose and said six little words, the last six words in the universe that she was expecting to hear:

"Rose Tyler, will you marry me?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh my God."

The Doctor knelt, looking up at Rose, a black velvet box held open in his hand, the slim band of silver glinting in the reflection of her eyes. She stared, not speaking, and the Doctor suddenly felt a surge of doubt. What if she had moved on in the years they'd been apart, and in the months he'd taken adjusting to his new human life? Sure, she had been happy to see him again after all that time, ecstatic even, but that could have just been the circumstances. Though he had tried to show his affection in recent months, he was never good with expressing _those_ kind of feelings, and the few dates they had been on could have been misconstrued as best friend time.

_But only if she was blind!_ The Doctor thought fiercely. _But then again, that's what I love about her. She's so blind to so many things, especially danger. How many times has she done something stupid and deadly because that big, wonderful heart of hers just couldn't stop? Like when she saved Pete from that car and ripped apart the cosmos… or when she ended up flying over London on a bloody __**barrage balloon**_ _because she was trying to save that child… or when she crossed the fabric of space and time and fought the Daleks __**again**_…

Yes, this young woman was the most special and blind person in the universe. And if she couldn't see all that, then maybe, just maybe, she didn't know how he felt about her. And maybe he didn't know how she felt about him. When she'd agreed to his plans for the evening, the Doctor had thought her choice of words was a sign. Maybe he was wrong. His brain started whirring, searching for a way to play off the proposal as a joke while simultaneously feeling his single heart begin to ache.

"Rose –" he began quickly, but at the sound of his voice, she snapped out of her reverie.

"Yes, of course, yes!"

The Doctor's face exploded into a smile as he stood up and took Rose's hand, sliding the ring onto her finger. The next thing he knew he was kissing her in the middle of the restaurant, his hands on the small of her back, her arms wrapped around his neck. The moment he'd been waiting for since he landed in this universe with Rose at his side, and everything was perfect for what felt like an eternity. It wasn't until they broke apart that he realised with bemusement that the other restaurant patrons were smiling and clapping around them, hearts warmed by the engagement scene. Rose started laughing, and the Doctor joined in, elated that she finally knew exactly how he felt.

* * *

><p>"Chips!" Rose said, breaking the happy silence they had been walking in. After leaving the restaurant, Rose decided they should take a stroll through the city before driving home. "We need to get some chips to celebrate!"<p>

"Oh, that is so like you, Rose Tyler," the Doctor said. "I ask you to marry me and all you can think about is chips. Maybe I should have asked you to start a chip factory with me, instead." He smiled at his own joke and made a detour to the nearest fish and chips stand. When they arrived at home, Rose's parents were waiting up for them, eating a late night snack of ice cream.

"Mum, look!" Rose said to her mother, holding out her left hand to show off the ring. "We're getting married!"

"Oh, Rosie, that's wonderful! Always knew you two'd end up together, you're both bonkers." Jackie beamed while Pete sat smiling next to her. The Doctor glanced between the two, wondering if Rose knew that he had been planning this evening with Pete for several weeks now. Rather the spontaneous type, the Doctor had enlisted the man's help when he realised he had to make this especially special. But whether she could tell or not, she was too happy to bother calling anyone out.

"So, when's the wedding then?" Jackie asked, standing to bring the empty ice cream bowls to the sink. "I don't suppose you two'll want to wait very long, what with the Doctor's new job starting up and all. Gets distracting, you know, this job thing, and next thing you know it's next year! Oh, Rose, I'm so excited, we'll have to go shopping for your dress! Course you could always use my old one but that's a bit outta fashion now. Ah! This is great, just great, I'll make us a cuppa tea to celebrate!"

While Jackie bustled off to make tea, Pete stood up and gave Rose a long hug. She smiled as she hugged him back, her eyes misting at the thought of having a father to walk her down the aisle. The Doctor felt satisfied knowing he (or his double) had helped bring about something that for the majority of her life she didn't think she would have.

"Congratulations, sweetheart." He heard Pete whisper in her ear, then watched as the man went to help Jackie in the kitchen. He could still hear Jackie prattling on about dresses and cakes and flowers. Rose turned to the Doctor.

"So when _are_ we having this wedding? With you teaching school, you're gonna be busier than me most days. It'll have to be on school holiday or something, right? So, like, next summer?"

The Doctor led her to the living room and sat them both down on the sofa.

"Well, I was thinking we could do December? School holiday, and your mum and dad'll be free too." He grinned as he remembered his first Christmas in that body. "Just no Christmas trees allowed."

"No _mad_ Christmas trees, you mean." Rose said conversationally, as though making the distinction between mad Christmas trees and normal Christmas trees was an everyday occurrence (which, with the Doctor, it was.) At that moment, Jackie stormed back into the living room, going on full steam about taffeta versus satin for gowns and commenting on the inadvisability of Rose wearing a dress with a train.

"With you lot I never know what you're gonna do next, Rose you'd best not, you might end up being kidnapped by aliens or something and then how would you escape with a dress like that?"

"Oh, been there done that. Disappearing brides are so last year." The Doctor quipped, and he looked with amusement over his steaming cup of tea at the three shocked faces staring back at him.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose twirled around in front of the mirror while her mother tried to make her veil lie flat.

"Stop your squirming, I've got enough of that from Tony! Now just hold still a minute!" Jackie grabbed the corners of the veil and gave it a shake to smooth out the wrinkles, then let it fall gently against the back of Rose's gown. The white fabric glowed in the light from the window, matching the happiness radiating from Rose's face as she surveyed herself again. Her gown hugged her body before widening into a sweeping skirt, hemmed with lace and tiny, sparkling stones. Loose lace sleeves draped across her arms, leaving her shoulders bare and drawing attention to the beautiful necklace she wore, featuring the same stones as her dress. Her hair done up and out of her face, she felt like a real princess.

"Sort of like Madame de Pompadour," she muttered to herself, remembering the beautiful woman they had saved from the murderous clockwork robots.

"Well listen here, Madame," Jackie said, smiling. "You'd better not mess that up one more time or I'm done with it! Now I'm just gonna go find Tony and your dad real quick, don't you leave this room! We don't want the Doctor seeing you before it's time, goodness knows you two don't need any more bad luck!"

Alone with her reflection, Rose slipped her hand inside a pocket hidden in the folds and ruffles of her dress and drew out a silver key on a thin chain. She thought back to her early days with the Doctor, when he was all ears and leather jackets, and smiled to herself. Then she tucked it back into her pocket and twirled around again, making the veil flutter and swirl and fall all out of place.

* * *

><p>The Doctor waited in a small room off the sanctuary of the church. He paced back and forth with nervous energy, periodically stopping to check the doorframes and calculate the date the original structure was built. He remembered the last time he was in this very church, and reapers were attacking the world outside as it dissolved into nothingness. This time would be different; Jackie wouldn't be yelling at him, Pete would be alive on purpose, and the only child Rose could be holding wouldn't create a paradox that would end the world.<p>

He stopped his pacing as Pete poked his head around the door and gave the Doctor a little nod. He acknowledged it, and Pete vanished behind the door again. The Doctor patted his tuxedo jacket, momentarily searching for a screwdriver that wasn't there. Slightly disheartened, he took a deep breath and walked through the door out into the sanctuary.

It was a small affair, all totalled. Since Pete and Jackie had never had a daughter in this universe, and he and Rose were both relatively new, there weren't many guests present. Noticeably missing were Mickey and Captain Jack Harkness, both far away in a parallel dimension. But some of Rose's new mates, as well as a few teachers from the Doctor's school, were present in the pews, along with a handful of Pete and Jackie's friends and coworkers. The Doctor was less interested in the crowd and more intent on the double doors at the other end of the aisle, currently obscuring his vision of the one person he wanted to see most. Though their life here had been uneventful to date, the Doctor was still on the lookout for any potential extraterrestrial shenanigans that could arise.

He stood alone at the front of the church, Pete having gone to join his daughter for their march up the aisle. The pastor walked up from another door and gave a nod to the organist, who began playing a lively tune. The Doctor's heart skipped a beat as the audience stood and turned to face the back of the sanctuary. The doors opened slowly and Jackie walked solemnly through, holding a waddling Tony by the hand as he clasped a pillow to which was tied their wedding bands. The guests murmured as the adorable toddler grinned up at them, then caught sight of the Doctor and waved the pillow around in the air. But the Doctor barely noticed, so focused was he on the empty doorway at the end of the aisle. Pete appeared in the archway and waited for Jackie to reach their pew with Tony, then turned and gave a smile, holding out his arm.

* * *

><p>Rose had been waiting for what seemed like hours for the guests to arrive and seat themselves. She bounced on the balls of her feet, her hand darting in and out of her pocket to grasp the TARDIS key for comfort. Her mother and Tony had just made it to their seats and her dad was holding out his arm for her to take. She pulled her hand out of her pocket and went to smooth down her dress one last time. She noticed a red imprint of a key on her hand, and wondered at the expanse of her nerves. <em>I'm going loony here<em>, she thought. She took a deep breath and let it out, her cheeks puffing out with the effort of calming herself. Then she took a step forward and into the doorway.

* * *

><p>The Doctor watched. All sound dropped away and the only thing he could hear was the muffled beat of his one heart. As Rose stepped onto the aisle on Pete's arm, she looked up and locked eyes with the Doctor. He had never seen her so radiant, not even when the heart of the TARDIS burned in her eyes and she controlled time itself. She glowed from head to toe, looking more beautiful than the snow-covered mountains and silver forests of Gallifrey and smiling brighter than the two suns of his home world. He couldn't take his eyes off her tongue, which poked through her teeth in the most endearing way. All of a sudden, she was there in front of him, and he was taking her from Pete and leading her to the front. As he listened to the pastor welcome the guests, he kept stealing glances at Rose. He thought back to the last Christmas he had spent with Rose. They had been his first days in this body, right after he regenerated on Satellite 5. Right after he had kissed her and taken the timestream from her head into his own.<p>

_Not that she remembers that particular kiss_, he thought. _In fact, she doesn't remember New New York either. Guess I'm not that good at this, am I?_ He ducked his head to hid a grin, and Rose looked quizzically at him. He realised that the pastor had stopped speaking and was looking at him expectantly. The Doctor blanked for a moment, then gave his head a tiny shake.

"Right! Of course. I do, Rose Tyler. Oh, I most definitely do." he stated.

"And do you, Rose Tyler, take Doctor John Smith to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do." Rose was beaming up at him, her face once again forming her adorable, goofy smile, tongue and all, and he couldn't help smiling too.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

The Doctor turned to face Rose and placed his hands on her waist, pulling her in for a kiss he made sure she would never forget.

* * *

><p>Rose leaned back in her chair, stuffed from the delicious meal she had just finished. She peeked over at the Doctor's plate, pleasantly surprised to see that he, too, had eaten all of his chicken and parmesan asparagus. He had even helped her polish off the special plate of chips the caterers brought out as a little joke, one of the Doctor's imagining. The guests, too, were finishing off their meals, and when she looked back to the Doctor's seat, her view was blocked by his tuxedo buttons. She craned her neck back to look up into his face, and he held out his hand for her, his new wedding band reflecting the flickering candle flames. She stood and let him lead her to the dance floor. He gave a suave nod to the band leader, then a little wink at her. Before she had time to realise what was happening, she heard the opening chords of Glenn Miller's <em>In the Mood<em> and suddenly the Doctor was swinging her around the dance floor. A laugh burst from her, and she moved with the music as the Doctor spun her. As the song ended, he wrapped his arms around her and dipped her low, taking the moment to whisper in her ear,

"I've just remembered - I can dance!"


	5. Chapter 5

Four months after her wedding, Rose Tyler stood in the kitchen of her parents' house, making dinner for herself and her three-year-old brother. Everybody else was gone for the evening, her parents out for a date night and her husband at a teachers' meeting at the school where he taught.

"Rose, what are you doing?" asked Tony, slowly walking into the kitchen to join his sister.

"I'm making dinner," she replied.

"What are you making?"

"Macaroni and cheese, and don't you even think of telling me you don't like it, you ate some just fine yesterday."

"Can I help?" He jumped up and then stood on his toes, attempting to see what was happening inside the big, silver pot sitting on the stove.

"Alright, why don't you stir the cheese in. Here, up you go," Rose said as the picked up the toddler. He grabbed the spoon that was sitting on the counter and immediately started stabbing the pasta, so violently that he almost hit his sister in the face. "No, Tony, you don't do it like that! Here, bring the spoon in circles, like this." She guided his hands around and around the edges of the pot until all of the cheese was mixed in. Putting Tony down, she spooned the macaroni into two bowls, got some spoons, and the pair sat down to eat their partially mashed dinner. Just as Rose picked up her spoon, the Doctor walked into the room, carrying two large, rather heavy looking books, which he set on the counter.

"You're home early," she said. "Thought you wouldn't be back till 8?"

"Yeah, well, you know me. Meetings." He said the word as if it had done him a great personal wrong. "Anyway, what's that you've got there? Smells good."

"Mac'n'cheese, you can have some, it's on the stove." The Doctor took off the lid and glanced into the pot.

"Why's it all in pieces?"

"Tony learned something new today."

"What's that?"

"How to stir."

"Ah. Very important, knowing how to stir things. Nobody ever gives stirring enough credit." He took a bowl from the cupboard and spooned some of the chopped up pasta into it. Sitting down next to Rose, he took a large bite and said, "Mmm. Not bad, this. You two make a pretty good team, eh Tony?"

"I got to stir it!" replied Tony excitedly. Of everyone he lived with, the Doctor was the person that Tony seemed to like the best.

"So I heard! And between you and me," the Doctor said, leaning in towards Tony, "this might just be the most well-stirred mac'n'cheese I have ever tasted, and that's saying a lot." He looked at Rose and gave her a little wink. Tony started to giggle.

"Well-stirred or not, it's getting on your bedtime, isn't it? Hurry and up and finish eating." Rose told her brother. He looked at the Doctor, who said to him, "You best do what she says. She gets scary when she's angry, you know."

"Hey!" she protested, playfully pushing the Doctor so he swayed in his seat. "Oi, and you!" she said to Tony, who had attempted to run off without being noticed, a feat which he failed in because he was giggling so hard. "Where do you put your bowl when you're done with it?" she asked him, exasperated. Sulking, he returned to the table and put his empty bowl in the dishwasher. "Thank you. Now, you go get changed and don't forget to brush your teeth! I swear, Doctor, that kid'll never learn."

They stayed at the table for a bit, talking and laughing, until they heard a scream from down the hall and Rose leapt into action, running to check on her brother.

"Rose, help! There's something here!"

As she entered the bedroom, Rose saw Tony standing petrified in the corner of the room, staring at the opposite wall. There, she saw a rather large bug, resembling a mosquito.

"Oh, come here, Tony, it's all right," she comforted the boy. He ran into his sister's arms while the Doctor went to the wall opposite and squashed the bug.

"See Tony?" he said. "Nothing to worry about."

"Doctor, it's gonna get me! I'm scared!"

The Doctor looked at Rose, and she said, "Tell you what, I'll stay in here with you until mum gets home. Okay? But," she added, "you've got to promise me you'll go right to bed after that, alright?" He nodded, and they both climbed into the small twin-sized bed, making themselves comfortable between the sheets.

"Well, then, goodnight you two," said the Doctor, turning out the lights. "See you in the morning." He left the room, leaving the door ajar behind him.

"Rose, tell me a story," Tony said, snuggling up next to her and leaning his head on her arm.

"Okay, but then you've got to go to sleep. Promise?"

"I promise."

"Alright then," she began. "Once upon a time there was a man with a magical blue box that could travel in time. He travelled all through the universe, saving people and defeating bad aliens."

"Why did he do that?"

"Well, he wanted to help people, didn't he? But, even with all of the people he saved, he was still the loneliest man in the universe."

"That's sad. Why was he so lonely?"

"Because all of his friends had been lost, and he didn't have any family, so he travelled the universe alone, looking for someone that he could be friends with."

"Did he ever find anyone?" Tony sounded very concerned about the magical man with the box. "Did he make any new friends?"

"Yes, he did. One day, he came to a world just like this one, and he met a girl in the basement of a shop. He saved her life, and then they became best friends. He took her with him on all of his adventures, fighting bad guys and saving the universe. They met talking robots, and blue ghosts, and even drawings that could come to life!"

"What happened to them?" he asked sleepily.

"Well, they lived happily after after, didn't they? That's the best way to end a story, with a happily ever after."

"What was the magic man called?"

"His name was the Doctor," she replied.

"Just like my big brother." And with that, Tony drifted off into a peaceful sleep, breathing softly, still cuddled up right next to Rose.

"Yes," she said, quietly so he wouldn't wake. "Just like your big brother."

* * *

><p>The Doctor was awakened the next morning by a thin rectangle of sunlight, which had somehow managed to creep its way through the windowshade and directly onto his eyes. He sat up and turned to see Rose lying next to him on her stomach, still asleep. He glanced at the clock. 5:03 in the morning. <em>It's still early,<em> he thought. _Maybe I can get a few more hours of sleep before school._ But thoughts of sleep immediately vanished from the Doctor's head when he heard a soft knock on the door, then a quiet, "Hello?"

Carefully getting up out of the bed so as not to wake his wife, the Doctor walked over to the door and opened it. Unsurprisingly, he saw the figure of Rose's brother standing in the doorway, holding a blanket and a teddy bear.

"Shhh…" said the Doctor as Tony walked over to the bed and crawled into the space in between Rose and where the Doctor normally slept, but to no avail. Not only did the toddler make a tremendous amount of noise getting into the bed, he also seemed to think that the best way to do so would be to climb on from the side closest to the door, crawling right over Rose's sleeping body.

"Ow," she said simply as she was kneed in the back by Tony. "Morning. Only maybe next time don't crawl over me, yeah?"

"Hi Rose!" said Tony brightly. "Surprise! Surprise!"

"What's he talking about?" asked the Doctor.

"Tony, I told you not to say anything! Ah, well. You made it this long, I guess. You can go get it, if you want."

"Get what?" the Doctor asked, as Tony ran off giggling. He looked expectantly at his wife, but she didn't answer until Tony came back into the room holding an envelope and a long round package wrapped in birthday paper.

"Well, I don't know when your real birthday is," Rose said, taking the package from Tony and handing it to the Doctor, "but I figured I can still get you a present. So, I thought, I'll give it to you today, since this is the day you first got here, right after killing those Daleks. Well go on, open it!"

The Doctor opened the envelope first, revealing a card on which the words "Happy Birthday" were written on the cover, along with a picture of a rocketship. Opening it, he read "Hope it's a blast!" and both Rose's and Tony's signatures. Chuckling a bit, he moved on to the present. It was rather badly wrapped, so it was easy to tear open.

"Oh wow, Rose. It's beautiful." He was holding a long black telescope, complete with a stand, with silver rings around the top and bottom. "Thank you so much."

"I figured that even if you couldn't travel the stars, you should at least be able to see them. So, there you are. Happy birthday." She smiled at him in that cute little way that always made his stomach turn to liquid and his single heart beat faster, and then fell back onto her pillow. "I'm exhausted. You couldn't wait another hour or so?" Tony looked at her guiltily.

"Sorry."

"Oh well, no getting back to sleep now. Let's go have breakfast."

The trio headed down the hall and into the kitchen, Rose and the Doctor chatting about what to eat for breakfast, and Tony running ahead of them making far too much noise for any time before six in the morning.

After a quick breakfast of toast and eggs, Rose announced that she was going to take a shower and get ready, and she walked off, leaving the Doctor alone with Tony.

"Doctor, look what I drawed!"

He leaned over to look at Tony's plate, where he could see a smiley face made out of salt and his leftover eggs. "Very nice. I always love a good smiley face. But, we should probably put our empty plates away, eh?"

"Okay," he said, picking up his plate and putting it in the dishwasher. Once he had finished cleaning up, the toddler walked over to the living room and turned on the television, putting it on a channel with kids' cartoons. The Doctor cleaned up and walked into his room.

Some time later, when the Doctor had been sitting on his bed reading a book, Rose walked in wearing her clothes for the day, her hair dripping wet. She hopped onto the bed and plucked the book out of the Doctor's hands, grabbing his attention by spraying him with water droplets from her loose hair.

"Hey, look, I've been thinking. How about we set up your telescope and check out some of the constellations tonight in the park? We could do a picnic or something to celebrate your birthday. It'll be fun!" The Doctor's eyes lit up and he smiled.

"That sounds great! Oh, I'll show you the most beautiful star in this galaxy, right at the top of Orion's sword. I remember one time when I was young, I think only about 300 or so, me and some mates….." he trailed off. Rose saw a glint of sadness in the Doctor's eyes. She rushed to speak before he could reminisce too much about his tragic past.

"That's sounds fantastic. And I have another surprise for you, too."

The Doctor's eyes lost their faraway look as his curiosity was peaked.

"Really? What is it? Is it a new pair of trainers? My old ones got a bit worn down and now there's holes in the toes and I can't wear them anymore and -"

"No way! I'm not telling you nothing, you're the one's gonna have to be surprised for a change! Now I've gotta get off to work a little early today, do you think you can get Tony ready so's I can take him to daycare?" Rose promptly cut off any further attempts of the Doctor's to divulge the truth by shaking her head one last time and spraying him with mist before grabbing her shoes and heading to the kitchen to pack her lunch. The Doctor popped out of bed and went in search of the toddler, whom he found naked in his room vigorously trying to pull a pair of trousers over his arms and head.

"Oi buddy, you're gonna get all tangled up like that. Though it's a nice fashion statement. But here, try it this way." The Doctor tugged the trousers off the three-year-old's arms then scooped him up. He placed the trousers on the ground all scrunched up, leaving two holes for Tony's feet to go through. He then lifted the boy high in his arms and gave him a little toss. As Tony giggled furiously, the Doctor caught him and lowered him down into the trouser legs. They then chose a matching shirt and walked into the kitchen to find Rose stirring milk into two cups of tea. She handed one to the Doctor and sipped the other one herself, simultaneously packing herself a lunch for the day and picking up the scattered contents of Tony's nappy bag. The Doctor helped Tony tie his shoes as the toddler prattled on about flying, showing his mother's capacity to fill a silence. The Doctor grabbed their coats from the hall closet and was just finishing zipping Tony into his duckie-patterned mackintosh when Rose set down her cup and walked over. Without missing a beat, the Doctor picked up Rose's coat and she slipped into it, he zipping it up just as he had with Tony's. Rose giggled and observed,

"We make a pretty good team, eh?" The Doctor's heart quickened for a moment and he smiled at the butterflies that still showed up whenever he looked into Rose's eyes. He gave her a light kiss on the lips, then picked up Tony and headed out to strap him into the car. Rose appeared moments later, her arms full of bags.

"Mum just phoned from work, says she'll pick Tony up today 'cause she's getting out early, so don't bother going by after school. I'll see you tonight, don't forget our date!"

And with that, she was off. The Doctor watched Teddy drive down the road, then went back into the kitchen to rinse their teacups before walking the 15 minutes to the school. On the way, he stopped to observe a little house that passed every day with a For Sale sign on the lawn. It was small, two bedrooms and a finished basement, a little cottage made of brick with blue shutters and a little stone path that led to the front door.

_We do make a great team, Rose. And maybe it's time our team got a little bigger?_


	6. Chapter 6

"Well that's odd!"

The Doctor was peering through his new telescope, adjusting the dials in minute degrees and frowning into the lense. Rose, sprawled out across their picnic blanket, was just finishing the last of the chips.

"Rose, come look at this. There, right there! It should be, but… no. It can't be! But it is! But it isn't…"

"What? What's wrong? Is it broken? I ordered it through the post, you know they're never very careful with stuff, 'specially when it's labeled 'fragile'."

Rose crawled over to the telescope and the Doctor moved aside to let her look.

"Naw, it's fine. No, what I'm wondering about is where is the star? Serenhardd? It should be right there, right above Orion, but see? It's blank! Empty! Kaput!"

Rose glanced sideways at the Doctor, detecting something more than confusion in his tone. His eyes sparkled and his foot tapped with energy. She realised that, while he made an excellent grade 8 history teacher, the Doctor was meant for more than that. For mystery and suspense and adventure. She got a taste of it working for Torchwood, but she knew he must miss it terribly. Her heart ached as she stared at the man who had changed her world, now stuck in one that, for him, was everything but what he loved. She knew he would never leave her, but sometimes she wished she could give him more than just a way to look at what he'd lost. She decided it was time.

"Well, I don't know, Doctor. But to be honest, it could just be the parallel universe. I notice that sometimes, little things are different. But… I've still got that surprise for you. D'you want it now?"

The Doctor peered through the telescope again, and it appeared that he hadn't heard her. Then he responded,

"No, but even here, even in this universe, that star should be there. It's Serenhardd, the anchor star for the Ten. It can't have just disappeared!"

"Doctor, did you hear me? I said I've got a surprise for you, and I think you're really gonna want to pay attention for a minute."

The Doctor finally stopped stargazing and turned to face Rose. She took a deep breath and fingered the TARDIS key which hung around her neck. It seemed warm, although that was probably just from the excited flush that spread across her body as she drew a slim package wrapped in silver paper from her purse.

"Y'see, I know it's been hard for you, being here in one place and all, and I know you say you love teaching, and you do! Of course you do, but it's not what you love the most. And I've had this since - well, for a long time, and I thought that you could use it better than me and really it belongs to you anyway, so here!"

She finished in a rush and shoved the parcel into his hands. He held it for a moment, weighing it on his fingers, then locked eyes with Rose and stared.

"Really?! Really really?! No way!"

He ripped the paper off to reveal a sonic screwdriver.

"HA! Oh, Rose, this is brilliant! Amazing! You are amazing! Where did you get this?"

"The other Doctor gave it to me right after we defeated the Daleks. Right before we came here. He said to give it to you when the time was right, and, well. It is. Right. Right now."

The Doctor grinned wide and grabbed Rose's face, kissing her soundly on the forehead. Then he turned to the telescope and began pulsing the screwdriver along the length of the barrel. Finishing, he excitedly looked through the machine again, and let out an exclamation.

"HA! I knew it! I knew! I had it right, the star's not moved. It did exist. It did but it's gone now, missing, just… gone!"

Rose flopped back onto the blanket and rolled her eyes. Leave it to the Doctor to find something suspicious as soon as he had the sonic screwdriver back. Then again, he wouldn't be her Doctor if he didn't.

"Doctor, you don't know, maybe it's just, I dunno, in a different part of the sky or something. Tell you what, what's it called again? Sevenhard? I'll look it up at work tomorrow, see if I can't find anything about it."

"Serenhardd. Two Ds. And no, this telescope will find whatever I need now. It should be able to find anything in this galaxy, and it knows this star but it can't locate it. Oh, now this is interesting Rose. This is _fascinating_."

The Doctor continued on about the missing star while Rose looked on. She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, an excitement she hadn't seen since their wedding day. Maybe this was a good development, a distraction that would help him with this new life. Their new life.

* * *

><p>Over the next few days, Rose took a little extra time at work each evening to research Serenhardd. The Torchwood database had the star on file as the centre of a system of ten planets of identical size. Though none of the planets were inhabited, each functioned as a stop point for intergalactic travel by several species. Besides this basic information, she couldn't find much else about why the star would be missing from the sky. The later nights and information scrolling on the computer was giving Rose headaches, and she had about given up on the Doctor's mystery. But she pressed on for him, and came home two days after their picnic with a folder filled with printouts from the various Torchwood databases. She presented the Doctor with them after dinner, and he spent the evening perusing the information.<p>

"Oi, Rose," he shouted from their bedroom where he was researching. Jackie, who was passing in front of their door at the time, poked her head into the room and sighed, exasperated.

"Shhhhh! Keep your voice down, will you? I've just put Tony to bed for the third time, and if he wakes up because of your clamour, it'll be _you_ gluing him to his sheets!" Jackie gave the Doctor a look, then headed to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Rose shuffled in and plopped onto the bed next to him.

"What is it, Doctor? Did you find something?"

"Well, no, actually. There's nothing unusual in these files at all. Which, I suppose, is interesting when you think about it. But no, that's not actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

The Doctor set aside the folder and turned on his side to look at Rose, who was laying belly-down on the bed, her face buried in the pillow.

"If it's about the car, I know, I'm taking him in tomorrow, I think it's just a faulty wire -"

"No, Rose, it's not Teddy. It's something a little bigger than a car."

"Bigger on the inside," Rose joked.

"Well, that would be one way of describing it. You see, Rose, I've been thinking and -"

"Oh Doctor, don't start doing that. Speaking in riddles and twisting what I say. I've been working long at the office and my head is pounding from all that research. Just get on with it."

Rose felt the Doctor put a comforting hand on her back and begin to work the tension from her shoulders.

"Well, you see, every day I walk to the school, as you know."

"I thought this wasn't about Teddy?"

"It's not, Rose, just let me finish! Every day, I pass this house on the way to school, wonderful little place, just up the road from work and it's got a lovely big tree in the front. I love trees. Right across the street from a little shop too! Gotta have a shop -"

"Doctor! Get to the point!" Rose's head was beginning to pound and she was in no mood for one of the Doctor's rambling speeches. She would have liked nothing better than to sleep for a good fifteen hours. She silently thanked herself for deciding to take tomorrow off for a sick day.

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, like you've said, we make a great team, you and me. You've seen it - we take care of Tony most days in the morning, and we can run a kitchen like a fully-staffed TARDIS. I'm thinking it's time we get out of here, you know, move on. I know you love your family, and they're great, don't get me wrong. Your mum's grown on me. But it's time for us to make a new place, just for our family, and… and maybe add someone new to the family?"

Rose couldn't believe her ears. She was a well-established member of the Torchwood team, and only in her early twenties. She still had so much to do, and she knew the Doctor was yearning for adventure as well. She saw the way her mum looked at the end of a long day of work and taking care of Tony, and that was with Rose and the Doctor and Pete's help. Rose couldn't imagine leaving her job and taking on that sort of responsibility, not yet. Not now.

"What?! Doctor, you're not serious! I… I have a job! And you have a job! And there's still so much we're gonna do together! This, living here with Mum and Dad and Tony, it's just temporary. We're gonna do so many things, even if it is only on one planet."

Rose and the Doctor were facing each other now. Rose's whole body was warm from the emotions, her head was spinning, and the TARDIS key around her neck was pressing a hot indent into her skin. She suddenly felt the world tilt and the Doctor grabbed for her as she almost slid off the bed.


	7. Chapter 7

"Rose! Rose, what's wrong?!" The Doctor grabbed Rose's wrist and felt her pulse, which was weak and sluggish. He propped her up on the bed, and she watched him dash out of the room and return with a tall glass of water. Her heartbeat pounded a tattoo into her skull, and she gratefully gulped the water when he handed it to her.

"Thanks. I dunno what happened, I guess I'm coming down with something. Spring fever, eh? Good thing I took a sick day tomorrow."

Rose finished her water and the Doctor tucked her into the sheets. He brought her some aspirin and she drifted off into sleep, the Doctor watching her concernedly from his side of the bed.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Rose awoke revitalised from her much-needed sleep. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. <em>Eleven? Wow, I suppose I did need a rest. All that staring at computer screens has put me off.<em> She wandered into the kitchen of the silent house, thankful to have a moment of peace, a respite from her usual hectic mornings. When she returned to the bedroom to get dressed, she noticed the folder of printouts the Doctor had abandoned. One of the sheets had fallen to the floor, and Rose picked it up to return it to it's place. The page was upside-down, but she noticed a diagram of the Serenhardd system. Right-side-up, the system was just a scattering of planets around a star. But upside-down, Rose noticed that each planet seemed to have a mate, as if they were really paired planets. Feeling intrigued, though sure that it had nothing to do with the disappearance of Serenhardd itself, Rose decided she would pop into the office after hours and do a quick search on binary planets. _The Doctor may have given up on adventures, but I'm not ready to. Not yet._

Rose spent the day lounging around the house, waiting for Torchwood to close for the evening so she could go in and do a quick computer search without having to face her colleagues. When 5:00 rolled around, she grabbed her keys and drove into the city to the Institute's main building. On the way, she got a text from the Doctor saying he had to stay late to grade papers, but he felt bad about arguing the night before. However, he still wanted her to see the house he was talking about, even if she wasn't ready to change things just yet. Would she meet him there at 8:00? Rose tucked her phone into pocket, not wanting the added distraction of texting as she entered the city, and decided that she'd humour him.

Her computer search turned up nothing. Binary planets were as common as grass across the universe, nothing special about them. With that lead dead, Rose spent a little time doing randomised searches of the database, hoping to stumble upon anything of interest related to Serenhardd. Finding nothing but some old files on a potential mining colony that had been abandoned in the planning stages, she gave up and switched off her computer. Her watch read 7:20. She sighed as she remembered the Doctor's request, and pulled out her phone to check the address. It was not far from their house, but it would take her at least 30 minutes to get over there from the Torchwood building. Confident that it would a pointless visit, Rose left the building and got into her car, turning on the radio for something to listen to during the long drive.

About fifteen minutes in, the ride was proving as uneventful as Rose had anticipated. Nothing was interesting about the particular section of town she was driving towards, and she was considering simply texting the Doctor to say that she didn't care to see this house, however many trees it had in its yard, when she started to feel strange. Her head was swimming again, and her mood turned fouler with every mile she drove. The radio was emitting a high-pitched noise but she was too distracted by her sudden pounding headache to risk taking her eyes off the road to adjust the station. Afraid that she was going to pass out in the middle of the road, Rose pulled her car over and was about to turn it off when she felt her body jerk, as though somebody had pushed her over from behind. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and put her hands out to stop herself from falling on her face, and was surprised when she felt them touch cold metal. _What? No, that's not right. What's happening?_

Rose was on the verge of panicking when she heard a familiar buzzing sound behind her. She quickly stood up and took in her surroundings. She was standing on a large, silver platform and there, in front of her, was a large window, black except for the occasional smattering of white stars, as one might see looking up at the night sky. Fearing that she had passed out and was dreaming, she at first didn't hear the sound of shrill voices coming from the room behind her.

"WE HAVE TAKEN THE HUMAN CAPTIVE. SHE IS IN THE TELEPORT CHAMBER."

She froze. Rose recognised those voices, but it couldn't be possible. No, she simply couldn't be here. Not without the Doctor. She turned to face the doorway, and as she did, something hovered into view. She gasped, unable to believe what was happening. As the monster moved towards her, she felt her heart speed up, now pounding in her chest.

"No. You can't be here. You're dead, I watched you die! No!" The creature came to a halt in front of her, raising it's eyestalk to look her in the face.

"WE DO NOT DIE. WE ARE ETERNAL. WE ARE THE DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALEKS!"


	8. Chapter 8

_8:20_. The Doctor was standing at the corner of the road still waiting for Rose to show up. _I guess she's still mad at me, _he thought. _Oh well. It's getting dark anyway, I'll just talk to her at home._ Slightly disheartened by Rose's desertion, he turned and started home. Halfway there he was still thinking of what he was going to say to Rose when something caught his eye. There, parked on the side of the road, still running, was a car that looked identical to Teddy. _No,_ he noticed upon closer inspection. _That IS Teddy. But then… _He looked all around and, finding no trace of Rose, sent her a brief text. His phone's screen declared that "MESSAGE HAS NOT BEEN SENT". Ignoring the uneasy feeling that was starting to build in him, the Doctor hopped into the drivers' seat and started off home.

When he arrived home, he found Jackie and Pete eating a later dinner.

"Tony's been quiet tonight. Maybe he's finally past having to be put down for bed ten times a night," Jackie said to her husband just as the Doctor walked in. He looked around the kitchen, but Rose was nowhere to be found. He tried to keep his voice light as he asked the couple if they'd seen their daughter that evening. Jackie's brow furrowed.

"Why? Isn't she with you?" asked Jackie. The worry on her face was much more evident than what the Doctor was feeling. "But she had the car. She wouldn't have just left him running on the street, she loves that thing. Oh, Pete, you don't think she's in any sort of trouble, do you?"

Before he could answer, the Doctor said, "I'll just have a look around the house, see if anything turns up." He walked out of the kitchen, leaving Pete and Jackie to worry alone.

"Where could she have gotten off to?" The Doctor said to himself as he walked into the bedroom that they shared. Perching on the edge of the bed, he withdrew the sonic screwdriver that Rose had presented to him only a few nights ago. He turned it in his hands and set to pointing it at random objects. With every object he sonic'd, his brain moved faster and faster. He began mumbling to himself.

"Where could she have gone? I didn't think it was too much… but maybe it's been different for her here, those years without me. Maybe she's changed more than I knew. But even then, Rose wouldn't just leave. She never leaves. Even when she saved her father and ripped apart the universe, it was me who left. Not a proud moment, come to think of it. Lucky thing the TARDIS let me know there was something really wrong or else - OH OF COURSE!" The Doctor leapt up from the bed and spun towards the door, racing out of the house.

"The TARDIS! Teddy!"

* * *

><p>"IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"<p>

Rose didn't speak. She was standing backed up against a wall, petrified.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!" The Dalek was less than an arm's reach away, and Rose could feel the heat coming off of it like a furnace. She glanced left and right; there was no way to escape. Slowly, she started to answer.

"I'm Rose Tyler," she said. "What do you want with me?" She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her body, her heart beating twice as fast as normal.

"INITIATE BIO-SCAN ON THE CAPTIVE," the Dalek ordered his comrade. Rose saw a blue light appear on the wall facing her and felt a certain warmth pass through her body, as if she had suddenly been dunked into hot water, but the sensation passed as quickly as it had come.

"HUMAN FEMALE," it said. "ORIGIN: EARTH. BLOOD TYPE: AB+. AGE: 23 YEARS. CONFIRMED: ROSE TYLER."

The lead Dalek gave a little nod of his eyestalk, seeming satisfied, when the second one began speaking again.

"SECONDARY LIFE FORM DETECTED. UNDEVELOPED HUMAN. ORIGIN: EARTH. BLOOD TYPE: UNKNOWN. AGE: FIVE WEEKS. NO IDENTIFICATION RECORDS."

"What?"

"YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. YOU WILL TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW."

"What?!" Rose said again. This whole situation was a strange mix of ridiculous and terrifying. "Are you saying I'm… I mean, what are you saying?! How could you know that? I mean…" Rose trailed off. She didn't know what to think or say. This should have been a happy moment, one that she shared with the Doctor. She had definitely _not_ imagined finding out something like this while captive on a Dalek spaceship in the middle of who-knew-where while her husband was back on Earth, unable to help her or even know where she'd gone. _And we were just arguing about it too. Great, he probably thinks I've blown him off or something 'cause I'm still angry. How the hell do I get myself into these situations?!_

"YOU WILL TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW OR YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"

"But I don't know anything, honest! I don't even know why I'm here, or what you want with me. Just let me go!" She knew from experience that begging wouldn't work, but it did make her feel better.

"OUR INTELLIGENCE INFORMS US OF HUMAN PLANS TO INTERFERE WITH THE DALEKS. YOU WILL TELL US WHO YOUR LEADER IS."

Suddenly, Rose had an idea. Terrified as she was, she knew that the only way for her to get out of this mess was to contact the Doctor. He may be only half Time Lord, but that was at least better than none. If she could only tell him where she was, then she was certain that he would be able to free her. She replied to the Dalek who had asked the question.

"Y-yeah, that's right. We know all about who you are and what you've been up to. The man you're looking for is called the Doctor."

"DOCTOR? DOCTOR WHO?"

"He's a time traveller from another universe. Where he's from, he's faced you hundreds of times, and he always beat you. He's wiped your kind out to the point of extinction, and you've even got a name for him. The Daleks in his universe call him The Oncoming Storm." She paused to let that sink in. "And I can promise you that if you so much as think of harming me, he'll come for you. And he'll show you no mercy when he finds you. So you better be scared, because that might be the only thing that can save you now."

The Dalek that seemed to be in charge turned to face the other one. "YOU WILL FIND THIS 'DOCTOR' AND YOU WILL MAKE CONTACT WITH HIM. WE SHALL SEE IF HE IS ALL THE HUMAN SAYS HE IS!" Silently rejoicing that the Daleks had listened and not incinerated her on the spot, Rose followed the lead Dalek as he said, "COME. YOU WILL HELP US FIND THE DOCTOR. IF YOU REFUSE YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"

* * *

><p>The Doctor sprinted through the front door and out into the night. Teddy sat, parked innocently at the side of the drive. While he was still a good 10 yards away, the Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver at the Bug and the driver's side door popped open. Skidding to a halt before he crashed into it, the Doctor used his momentum to swing into the driver's seat and yanked the door shut.<p>

"Ah Teddy. Good old Teddy. What have you got for me," the Doctor said quietly with his eyes closed. He then inhaled deeply through his nose, and when his eyes popped open again, they had a new light in them.

"Brilliant! Transportation matrix residue. Very specific, very nice, oh, that's lovely. Managed to only get Rose but nothing else inside the car. And with a matrix that complex, it's gotta leave scars…"

The Doctor began slowly running his sonic screwdriver around the edges of the car frame, passing over the door, and the seat he was sitting in, then moving over to the passenger seat on his left and back up to the roof. Everywhere his screwdriver went, something shimmered in the air, a web of shining threads connecting that very specific location to another location, far off. Just as the Doctor was finishing his scan, his screwdriver began a high-pitched whine. Light streamed out of the end and a hologram formed before him.

It was Rose. She was alive. She stood in his field of vision with her hair draped across her face, her head down. But then she looked up, and her eyes met with the Doctor, and his elation at seeing her unharmed vanished. Her eyes were full of pleading and terror. The Doctor felt a fury such as he hadn't felt since the day of his creation explode in his chest. She had been through so much. They both had. Across universes they had travelled together, and now when they were finally finding a home and a life together, something was trying to break them apart again. But not this time. The Doctor opened his mouth to speak when he heard a voice. Not the chime of Rose's lilting voice, not even a human voice at all. But he knew that voice. He would know it anywhere.

"DOCTOR. WE HAVE THE HUMAN ROSE TYLER-"

"Yes, I can see that thank you very much! But what are you doing with her? What are you even doing _here_?"

"WE KNOW YOU ARE THE LEADER OF THIS HUMAN PLOT. YOU WILL SURRENDER OR THEY WILL BE THE FIRST TO BE EXTERMINATED."

"They? They who? Who's they? What're you talking about? Who else've you got hidden away there?"

"WE HAVE ROSE TYLER AND HER CHILD. IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER, THEN WE WILL DESTROY THE EARTH, AND WE WILL BE ALL-POWERFUL! WE WILL BE THE ULTIMATE EXTERMINATORS- THE DALEKS WILL CONQUER AND RULE THE UNIVERSE!"


	9. Chapter 9

Rose watched the holographic version of the man she loved process the information he had just received. _All_ the information. _Our child!_ Rose's thoughts began to whirl as she felt a strange surge of protectiveness swell in her heart. No Dalek was going to threaten her or her family, not again. They had been the cause of her separation from the Doctor in the first place, and though through fighting them they had been reunited, she would never forgive them for those years of torture and loneliness. She remember a time that seemed from a different life; she had been a captive then as well, by the same creatures that were now threatening her existence and her world. But this time she did not have the Heart of the TARDIS flowing through her mind, and the Doctor had no lives to spare to save her. It would have to be up to them, and only them, mere insignificant humans. They would have to fight alone. But oh, fight they would. Rose had finally found her life and it was here, with the Doctor, and she promised herself that nothing, not even the Daleks, was ever going to take that away from her.

As she was thinking this, Rose could see the holographic Doctor trying to think of what to do next, how to respond. _Come for me! _Rose wanted to shout. _Come save me… and our baby… _But she didn't dare speak. She knew that she was only alive now because the Daleks had allowed it, and she wasn't going to give them any reason to change their minds. Still, it was all she could do not to call out to the man standing in front of her, to tell him that she believed in him, and she knew that he would come and save her.

All of this went through Rose's mind in a split second, just enough time for the Doctor to respond.

"What?! No, you haven't got… Jackie is gonna kill me. And you!" he said directly to the Dalek who had glided over to stand next to Rose. "I thought I was rid of you, that you were all gone, but no. You lot've always got a way of coming back, a way of taking everything I love from me. But you know what? Not today. Oh, that's right, because today is the day I end you. Today I blow every one of you out of the sky, wipe you out of the universe, and there's nothing you can do about it. Because you've done the one thing I can never forgive you for."

"AND WHAT IS THAT?"

"You've taken my family. Rose?" he said, shifting his focus to look right at her. "I'm coming to get you."

The image shimmered, then vanished, as though it had never been there. But even though it was gone, even though she had no way of knowing what was happening to the Doctor, Rose was beaming. He had said he was coming to get her, and she knew that he was on his way, and he would succeed. Because if there was a single person in the universe who could get her out of this mess, it was the Doctor. Her Doctor. And he would never let her down.

* * *

><p>As he watched the holograph of Rose shimmer and fade, the Doctor felt a rush of excitement go through him, a feeling he hadn't known in months and wasn't sure he would ever have again. This was what he was meant for, saving lives and helping people, something he hadn't got to do a whole lot of for the past year. This feeling was coupled with dread. "We have Rose Tyler and her child," that was what they had said. <em>But Rose hasn't got any children, <em>thought the Doctor. _So that can only mean they've got Tony as well._ _If Jackie finds out that both of her children are in danger because of me, I'm done for._ He thought back to the first time he had met Rose's mother, how he had promised that he would keep her daughter safe, he would always bring her home. Now she was in trouble, and here he was on Earth, without a TARDIS, and no way to get to her. _The Daleks used a long range teleport. If only I had something I could use to repeat the trip…_

"Of course!" the Doctor shouted. "Torchwood!"

At that moment, what he needed most of all was a piece of technology that he knew was impossible to get anywhere on Earth, anywhere except a place that was dedicated to studying all things alien. The Doctor leapt into action, jumping into the car and starting the engine. He drove to the Torchwood Institute like a maniac, tearing around corners and narrowly missing other drivers, who honked and swore at him. He didn't care. The only thing he was thinking of was Rose, and how he needed to get to her, even if he had to break every traffic law in existence to do it. When he finally arrived at the familiar building, ran out of the car and straight through the doors into the main lobby.

"Hello, how may I help you?" asked the receptionist at the desk, but the Doctor ignored her. He simply sped right past her, through the large room and to the stairs, looking for something that would tell him where the alien technologies could be found. There, on a building map, he found it: Recovered transportation devices, level three. Taking the stairs three at a time, the Doctor was breathing heavily by the time he reached the third floor. When he burst open the door into an open, cluttered looking room, every person turned to look at him.

He turned to the nearest person, who was looking at him, completely dumbstruck. "I need a teleport device, or one that can trace and repeat past teleports." The worker didn't move, still looking as though a polar bear wearing a bow tie had just walked into the room and started to dance. "Well?! Can anyone tell me where I can find one?!" Another long silence ensued. Finally, the man he was talking to replied.

"I'm sorry, sir, but… Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor, and I need a teleport!"

"I'm sorry, but how are you authorised to make that request?"

The Doctor wanted to punch someone. In his old universe, he would have just whipped out his psychic paper and claimed to be the king of Sweden or something, but here he was without the luxury of instant identification. Instead, remembering that this was where Rose worked, he tried a different approach.

"How many of you know Rose Tyler?" he asked. Quite a few people raised their hands, most of them nodding. "Well, I'm her husband, and she's in trouble." This caught the attention of nearly everybody, and it seemed that Rose was someone who they all liked and didn't want to see in danger.

"What kind of trouble?" asked the man standing in front of the Doctor. He wanted to scream.

"The kind of trouble where she'll be dead if I don't get a teleport within the next thirty seconds!" he shouted. The way he said it seemed to make people feel like he was telling the truth, and the worker he had spoken to turned around and walked to a table, where he picked up a large, silver bracelet.

"Here," he said, handing it to the Doctor. "Put this on and you can retrace any teleport, given that it was recent enough. You just hold this button for three seconds so it can set the course, then hit this big red one when it beeps. And Doctor," the man said to him just as he was leaving.

"Yes?"

"Good luck."

The Doctor smiled at him, then, running back down the stairs, felt a kind of relief build inside him. Yes, Rose was still in danger, and yes, for all he knew she could be dead, but for now, he had a plan. And with a plan, against the Daleks, he would be unstoppable.

* * *

><p>Rose was sitting in her cell, her back to the wall and facing the electric bars that were holding her in. They were similar to the force field that she had been held in on Davros's ship, but that time her cage had been only a small circle surrounded by light, just large enough for her to stand in. Now she was in a small room walled in on three sides, with the force field creating a barrier on the fourth, out of which she could see something that might have been the control room.<p>

Rose could hear her guards talking outside her cell. Turning her head to look at them, she started to listen to the conversation.

"THEY HAVE DISCOVERED OUR LOCATION," said one of the Daleks. "THE ENEMY IS COMING."

"IMPOSSIBLE! NO ONE CAN HAVE FOLLOWED US AFTER THE BATTLE," replied the leader. "WE WILL CRUSH THEM WHEN THEY ARRIVE. NO ONE CAN DEFEAT THE DALEKS!"

Rose peered through the force field imprisoning her and tried to glimpse the Dalek's monitors. All she saw was a picture, distorted by the energy barrier, of a ship with strange, circular markings, then the screen went blank.


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor wasted no time rushing back through the building to the carpark. He pulled out his screwdriver and scanned the interior of the car again. _Faint, but it's there,_ he thought. _Now I just need to get the coordinates to interface with the teleport's system and… BINGO! _A light began blinking on the large silver bracelet, indicating that the connection was made and ready to bring the Doctor to Rose and Teddy. Just as he was about to hit the "Transport" button, he spied something on the floor of the car. He grabbed it, then hit the button and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Rose was growing impatient. She had been there for what felt like hours, and all that was happening was Daleks rolling past her cell and the occasional barked order from the lead Dalek, a black and silver creature called General Bas. Other Daleks came and went, but Dalek Bas remained in the control room, in front of a glowing screen. The screen was blurred through the force field that held her captive, but Rose could make out a diagram dotted with small objects. It seemed somewhat familiar, but Rose couldn't see clearly enough to be sure. Every so often, one of the machines in the room would beep, the picture would shift, or a Dalek would glide in with some news about source levels or fleet percentages. Rose went from worry to intrigue to boredom. She narrated along to herself as the next Dalek conversation unfolded.<p>

"GENERAL BAS, THE SOURCE HARVEST IS AT 55%."

"Looks like we'll be having some delicious corn this year, and a nice crop of potatoes too," Rose muttered under her breath.

"GOOD. INCREASE DRONE PRODUCTION AND GATHER THE COMMAND HEADS."

"We can have some lovely chips made from our potatoes and not offer Rose any. It'll be good fun."

"AND CONFIRM DEFENSE MECHANISMS. MAXIMISE SHIELD CAPACITY."

"Couldn't confirm some dinner for me, eh?" Now that she thought about it, Rose was getting very hungry. She hadn't eaten since before she left for Torchwood, so she stood and walked to the forcefield.

"Oi! You there! Dalek! Any chance of you having some chips or something? I mean, if you're gonna keep me prisoner here, you've gotta at least keep me alive! I'm eating for two, remember!"

Dalek Bas turned to her and began to wheel towards her cell. She started to regret opening her mouth when an alarm went off on the monitor. Both Daleks turned to the screen as three more rushed into the room - the command heads, Rose assumed. One Dalek, a bronze coloured one, began reading the instruments at the control panel.

"INTRUDERS ENTERING SOURCE HARVEST SPACE! INTRUDERS ENTERING SOURCE HARVEST SPACE! 15 SHIPS DETECTED! IDENTIFY ORIGIN! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

The Daleks buzzed around the control room, using their mechanical arms to press buttons and turn knobs. The view on the fuzzy monitor suddenly showed a group of the same ships Rose had seen earlier, with whirling symbols on the hulls. Suddenly, yet another alarm blared.

"INTRUDER ON BOARD! ENGINE ROOM 5! CAPTURE AND BRING HERE FOR IDENTIFICATION AND EXTERMINATION!" Dalek Bas's deep, computerised voice sounded impatient and possibly a little worried, Rose thought. _That's the Doctor! I knew he'd come! I just hope he knows what he's up against, and doesn't do anything stupid. He hasn't got another heart or a hand this time…_

Two of the Daleks sped from the room, the other three remaining at the controls. Dalek Bas barked out orders over the ship's intercom system.

"PREPARE THE ARMY. ALL DALEKS TO THE SOURCE. WE WILL DESTROY THE ENEMY AND RULE THE UNIVERSE!"

"SOURCE HARVEST AT 70%, GENERAL BAS."

The black and silver Dalek gave a nod of his eyestalk, then turned back to Rose.

"WE WILL BRING THIS INTRUDER HERE. WE WILL MEET THIS DOCTOR. THEN HE AND YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"

Rose shrank back to the corner of her cell, sitting with her back against the wall. She put a hand up to grasp her TARDIS key for courage. She found it strangely hot. Pulling it out, she found it emitted a faint glow in her palm. _What the hell's going on with this,_ she thought. _I thought this only happened when the TARDIS was around… maybe it's because of some alien technology on the ship?_ She quickly tucked it back under her shirt before the Daleks noticed. _Strange…._

Just then, a Dalek entered with his laser pointed at the back of a man. A tall man with tousled hair dressed in a suit and trainers, wearing the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face.

"Doctor!"

"Hello, Rose! Long time no see! How've you been? I hope you know Teddy was _not_ happy to be left on the side of the road like that. And hello there big fella!" The Doctor turned to Dalek Bas, who was waiting by the control panel, flanked by his command heads.

"YOU ARE THE DOCTOR?"

"That's me, I'm afraid." The Doctor clasped his hands behind his back and transformed his face into a disappointed expression, as if he were chastening Tony for wiping his hands on his sleeves or leaving his Legos strewn across the living room.

"And I'm afraid you're gonna have to stop this right now. You don't belong here. Something else does."

"WE DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM HUMANS. WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF OUR PLANS?"

"Well, I know that where you _really_ belong is across the galaxy in the Time War. I know that you used a matter-displacement teleport and ripped the star from this solar system to bring yourselves here. And I know that you're using the _second_ star to harvest energy. Now allow me to tell you what you don't know. You don't know that by displacing one star in a binary solar system, you leave that system at an imbalance. Like one kid jumping off a teeter-totter, it doesn't really go well for the other bloke who's left hanging. And this "harvest" that you're doing, well, not really making things better now, is it? So what you don't know is that this whole system is in a state of collapse, and if you don't teleport back and return the second star to it's place, you and the star and every planet and ship here will collapse into a massive black hole in…. oh, I'd say about an hour?"

The Doctor turned from Dalek Bas to survey the monitor as the Daleks eyed him. Then Dalek Bas spoke.

"WE DO NOT BELIEVE YOU. NOTHING CAN STOP THE MIGHTY DALEK RACE. WE WILL EXTERMINATE YOUR PLANET TO PREVENT ANY FURTHER ATTACKS. YOU WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE. EXTERMINATE!"

The Doctor threw up his finger.

"Wait wait wait! What have we here? Have you got some company?" He peered at the screen, which showed the small fleet of ships suspended above what looked like a gaseous planet. Though Rose could still not see properly through the force field, she thought it looked like the ships were… sparkling? The Doctor turned back to Dalek Bas, and Rose saw his hands begin to fiddle with a large silver bracelet clasped around his wrist.

"Who is that? Why are you attacking them? Who else could be here?"

Dalek Bas remained silent, but another Dalek behind him spoke up.

"THE ENEMY OF THE DALEK IS NO MATCH FOR OUR NEW FLEET. THEY WILL PERISH AND THE SOURCE HARVEST WILL BE COMPLETE."

"ENOUGH TALK" Dalek Bas interrupted. "AN ENEMY OF THE DALEK IS HERE. COMMAND HEADS, EXTERMINATE THESE AND PREPARE TO DESCEND."

With those words, the Dalek who had been holding the Doctor hostage raised his laser to take aim at the Doctor's shoulders.

"Doctor look out!" Rose's heart began to race. This was what she had dreaded. That the Doctor would get himself into one of these situations with no way out and she would be left alone, again. But the Doctor dropped to his knees and the laser beam shot over his head. He hopped up again and dashed toward Rose's cell. Unable to follow his zigzag running, the Dalek's lasers missed again. One of them hit a control panel and the force field blocking Rose's vision shimmered then disappeared.

"Ha!" The Doctor's exclamation was what drove Rose to her feet, and she sprinted from the cell towards her husband.

"Where's Tony?" the Doctor shouted they both ran for the exit, dodging laser blasts.

"What?!"

"Where's Tony!"

"Doctor, are you ok? Did you hit your head? Look, we've got to get out of here!"

Rose suddenly felt a burning against her chest. She gasped and put her hands over her heart. The Doctor stopped running and pulled them both into a small alcove in one of the corridors.

"Rose?! What is it what's wrong did they hit you?"

"No," she gasped, out of air from running. She grabbed the chain that hung around her neck and wrenched it over her head. The TARDIS key dangling from it burned bright and hot.

"Doctor, I think there must be some alien technology or something on board that's making the TARDIS key react like this. I felt it earlier too, in my cell. It must have been getting hotter and I just didn't notice it."

The Doctor stared at the TARDIS key for a moment. Rose knew that he knew she'd kept it all these years, but she also knew he didn't like seeing it. It was too painful for him, she supposed. Sometimes it was painful for her too, but usually it was the comfort she needed to get through a tough situation. She felt bad for bringing it out now, of all times, to remind him that he no longer was what he used to be. She went to tuck it away in her pocket, safely away from her skin, but he grabbed it from her.

"No, it's not possible…" His whisper was just barely audible. Then he looked up at Rose with an expression she could not interpret.

"Look, Rose, we need to get out of here. I don't have an answer to this yet, but I think I can find one. But first we need to get Tony. Did you hear where they're keeping him?"

"Doctor, what are you on about? Tony's not here… well not as far as I know. Has he gone missing too?!" Rose's heart twisted as she thought of her sweet baby brother being threatened and held captive by these horrible creatures.

"But they said… the Daleks said they had a child."

Realisation dawned on Rose, but before she could speak, they heard a robotic voice echo down the corridor.

"FIND THE PRISONERS AND EXTERMINATE THEM IMMEDIATELY!"

"Doctor, we've gotta get out of here, NOW! Forget about Tony, he's not here, now I saw you playing with that thing in the control room, what is it? What does it do?" She indicated the bracelet blinking on his wrist.

"Oh, this? It's a long-range teleport device. I've reset the coordinates to those ships the Daleks are fighting, thought we'd go have a chat with whoever's out there. But it's really only supposed to carry one person, so you'll have to hold on to me very tightly or you could go flying off into space. But I have a feeling about those ships…"

"PRISONERS LOCATED! EXTERMINATE!"

The Doctor and Rose leapt from their hiding space just as it was bombarded by laser bursts. They ran hand-in-hand down corridor after corridor, narrowly avoiding Daleks at every turn.

"Teleport us, Doctor! NOW!" Rose fought to keep up with his long legs as they sprinted through the ship.

The Doctor reached over to the wrist that was holding Rose's hand and pressed a button on his bracelet. At that moment, Rose tripped over a grate in the floor, lost her footing, and fell to the ground.

"NO!..." Rose heard the Doctor's shout fade away as he became transparent, then disappeared entirely.


	11. Chapter 11

"Rose!"

The Doctor shouted as he watched reality disappear around him, as though the universe were slowly dissolving, and he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet vanish. He fell through nothingness, finally feeling his hands hit something solid. Jumping to his feet, the Doctor found himself standing in a large control room, where he could see panels with buttons and switches, plus something that looked like it might have been a television screen. Busy taking in his surroundings, he almost didn't notice the people standing around staring at him, pointing and whispering in his direction.

"What?!" he said, having a closer look at the faces of the people all around him. "No… that's not possible… How can you be here?"

"I believe we could ask the same of you, sir. Who are you?"

The Doctor looked around. These people, he recognised them, he _knew_ them and yet… it was impossible. They were dead. He had seen them die, all of them, perishing in the flames. Barely able to think over his disbelief and astonishment, he started to answer.

"I'm… I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor? Interesting name. Doctor who?"

"Nothing, just the Doctor. And… Who are you?"

"We are Time Lords, of the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. And, if I may, how did you get onto our ship?"

The Doctor could hardly believe what was being said. How many times had he wished there were others like him? How often had he sat alone in the TARDIS and silently grieved for his family and his people and his home, lost forever long ago? To see them standing here now, majestic and stoic, albeit a bit confused and wary, was an impossible dream come true.

"Well, it's kind of a funny story…" he started, trying to think of how to tell them who he was. "I'm actually, well, I'm a bit of a Time Lord myself…" He trailed off, causing confused faces to sweep around the room.

"What do you mean, 'a bit of a Time Lord yourself'? Are you, or are you not?"

So he told them. The whole story, how he was from another universe, that he had gotten here trying to stop Daleks from taking over his universe, and how he was the half-human, half-Time Lord result of a severed hand and leftover regeneration energy. His mouth moved faster and faster when he realised he didn't have to pause after every sentence and explain some complicated bit of science or illogical fact of time. He became so wrapped up in telling his story, so giddy at the chance to talk to others like him, that he went into many unnecessary details and side tracks. When he was finished, the Time Lord he had been talking to looked at him curiously. He suddenly realised just how long he had been talking since he arrived in the control room, and what he had left behind moments before appearing there.

"But now, I have to get over to that Dalek ship. They're holding someone hostage, her name is Rose, and I need to save her. Will you help me?"

"Well, yours is a rather fantastic story, I must say. But I'm sorry, but there is no chance that your friend could still be alive if she's been with the Daleks for as long as you say." The Time Lord that had first spoken to the Doctor looked almost patronising. "We will destroy the fleet, as we intended, then return to Gallifrey. There is no possibility of saving your friend now." Whatever he claimed, the Doctor could tell that his story had not been believed.

"Well, you don't know Rose. She's alive on that ship, I know it, and I'm gonna get her back. I don't need your help." With that, the Doctor whipped around and ran out of the room, not knowing exactly what he was searching for, but hoping against hope that he would find what he needed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the TARDIS key that Rose had worn around her neck for years. The light from it pulsed slightly, as if it were encouraging him, and the key let off a steady warmth. Not knowing if he was being followed, he wandered sneakily along the corridors of the ship, heading for one of the storage bays. If these people really were who they said they were, who he was almost positive they were, then Deck 6-Acorn-D would have what he was looking for. He found the door to the bay and pulled out his sonic screwdriver to open the door. The lock held for a moment, but then popped open and he slipped through into the dark room beyond.

Holding the screwdriver high to activate the floating orbs that lit up the area, he walked down the steps that lead from the door the deck's floor. Scattered around the room were various boxes, crates, and piles of equipment, all labeled with the beautiful swirling symbols of Gallifreyan. His heart went from racing to jogging to a crawl as he moved around the room, surveying the Time Lord materials and not seeing what he was looking for. When he had circled the room for the 10th time with no results, he heaved a sigh of defeat. Moving back to the stairs, he started climbing, but stopped after a few stairs. The key in his pocket had suddenly become hotter, sending him a message, _keep looking_. The Doctor stopped in his tracks and turned slowly on the spot. Then he noticed a dark line of _things_ under the stairs. He scrambled over the railing and dropped in front of a bulky pile covered in tarps. His brain not daring to hope as much as his heart was, he grabbed the tarp at the end and pulled. A row of shining metal cylinders gleamed in the light from the globes.

"HA! Knew I'd find you! Old friends. How are you? Oh, you are bea-utiful!" He pulled the TARDIS key from his pocket and held it up to the first cylinder in the line. Nothing happened. His brow furrowed, he hopped to the next object in the line and did the same. Nothing. Moving down the line, he held the key up to each cylinder, and each time the key remained warm but had no other reaction. He finally reached the last three cylinders in the line. These three were different; each one had a sign attached that read "Damaged - Needs Repair". The one closest to him had details of a jammed door, and the one after that needed a new pair of brakes. The last on in the line said "Chameleon circuit malfunction". Holding his breath, the Doctor held the key up to the side of the object. The key flashed brightly in his palm and the metal seared his skin. He let out a whoop and inserted the key into the lock. A door swung open and the Doctor disappeared inside the metal capsule. He had never felt more at home. He stepped into a large circular room, with columns around the walls and a round control console in the very centre of the room. Walking up to the controls, the Doctor fell into a routine that was almost second nature to him: this button, that lever, set the place and go! He heard a familiar, comforting wheezing sound emanating from the room itself, and the ground started to shake as the Doctor was on his way.

* * *

><p>As Rose had watched the Doctor disappear, she could hear Daleks behind her coming closer and closer, their cries of "EXTERMINATE!" echoing off the walls in the long, narrow corridors of the spaceship. Stopping to watch only for a second, she started running through the hallways, looking for a good place to hide. It felt like the ship went on forever. Finally, stopping to catch her breath, she saw a small door ajar at the end of the corridor. Running to it, Rose slipped through and found herself back in the control room where she had been held captive. <em>That's odd<em>, she thought to herself. _There's nobody in here. Come to think of it, I haven't seen any Daleks anywhere else for a while, either._

Rose had an uneasy feeling about this silence, like the calm before the storm. She was just starting to wonder whether something worse was about to happen when the screen on the control panel blinked and came to life. Although the image was slightly fuzzy, Rose could still make out a room similar to the one she was in, but with people standing all around. And, taking a closer look, she noticed that one of those people was the Doctor.

"Doctor!" she cried out, but it was obvious from his lack of acknowledgement that he couldn't hear her. And, she realised, she couldn't hear him, either. "Only a video link, eh?" she muttered to herself, her elation at seeing the Doctor starting to crumble away into disappointment. "Fat lot of use you are," she told the screen.

And she watched. There wasn't anything else to do stuck on the ship, and just seeing the Doctor was a comforting feeling, even if Rose couldn't communicate with him. She watched as he spoke to the people all around him, going on for what felt like hours. Then, finally, he turned and stormed out of the room.

"That's more like it," Rose commented. "Finally realised that I'm still stuck here, have you?"

Rose peered over her shoulder to make sure no one was coming, then began to push buttons on the control panel. She was no expert on alien technology like the Doctor, but working at Torchwood for the past few years had brought her past her helpless sidekick days. She scrolled through the Daleks' files and statistics of drone production and energy harvest, all things she had heard discussed when she sat prisoner in this very room not hours before. She was flipping through various security camera footage when she heard a noise behind her. Whirling around, she saw a dark shape approaching. Before she could think to run and hide, the shape materialised into Dalek Bas.

"YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE ENEMY. YOUR PLOT TO CEASE RISE OF THE DALEK EMPIRE WILL NOT PREVAIL. WE WILL EXTERMINATE YOU AND THE TIME LORDS!"

"Time Lords?! What are you…" Rose stopped talking as her eyes floated to the screen, which had stopped on footage of the ships she had seen earlier. The swirling symbols. The enemy of the Daleks. The TARDIS key. Everything was making sense to her now, and she felt a surge of hope in her chest as she remembered the Doctor rushing out of the view of the video.


	12. Chapter 12

A whooshing, groaning noise filled the corridor of the Dalek spaceship. A blinking light appeared, creating long shadows in the empty hall. Slowly, a large blue box materialised, seeming to glow in the dim, eerie light. The door of the old wooden police box creaked open and the Doctor's head poked out.

"It worked!" The Doctor slipped out the door and took a moment to admire his handiwork, then turned on the spot to inspect his surroundings. He took a step down the hall, coming to a crossroad. He stopped for a moment to look around again, took a few steps back towards the TARDIS.

"Where am I?!"

* * *

><p>Rose's moment of joy at discovering the Time Lords and the Doctor was fleeting. Dalek Bas wheeled toward her ominously. Rose's mind raced, and she stammered,<p>

"Oh, yeah. Well. That's right, innit? And that's not all. I… uh… notified the… uh, Shadow Proclamation! Yeah! And… uh… the Time Lords have a secret weapon, so you better watch out! And if you hurt me, they'll… uh… be… angry." Her voice petered out. Dalek Bas's eyestalk twitched, and the light seemed to glow brighter.

"WE SHALL SEE. THE TIME LORDS MAY HAVE A SECRET WEAPON. NOW THE DALEKS KNOW AND WE SHALL TAKE APPROPRIATE COUNTERMEASURES. WE SHALL NOT BE DEFEATED."

Dalek Bas passed Rose and began pushing buttons on the control panel. The screen lit up with lines and small blinking dots. A gauge on the side blinked at 87%. Dalek Bas began speaking and his voice echoed around the control room and through the ship. Every word filled Rose with dread, compounded by the steady increase of the gauge.

"DALEK SOLDIERS. THE SOURCE HARVEST IS AT 90%. SOON WE WILL BE AT FULL CAPACITY. WE WILL OVERPOWER THE TIME LORD FLEET. WE HAVE GAINED INTELLIGENCE OF A TIME LORD WEAPON, WHICH WE WILL FIND AND DESTROY. THEN WE SHALL COMPLETE THE CONVERSION ENGINE AND ACHIEVE VICTORY OVER THE TIME LORDS! PREPARE THE BETA TROOPS AND ASSUME BATTLE POSITIONS!"

Rose, who had been quietly making her way to the exit, stopped at the new information. _Conversion engine? What the hell is that, and what's that got to do with the Time Lords?_ Rose glanced back up at the screen and saw the blinking dots begin to move over the lines on the display. _So that must be the ship then? Right, time to make some trouble, Rose. That's what you're good at, after all, Mum always said so._ The gauge flicked to 93%, and she felt her heartbeat rise. Where was the Doctor? She could only do so much stalling, and if he'd found what she thought he had, he should have made his appearance already. Pushing aside the niggling doubt that had blossomed in her mind, she called out to Dalek Bas again.

"Oi, tin can! Ya, you. So, what's all this about conversion and whatnot? Because I don't think you wanna find out what happens when that star runs out of energy, and no amount of alien technology or whatever it is you're doing will help."

"WE ONLY ACCEPT THOSE HIGHLY COMPATIBLE FOR THE CONVERSION. BIO SCAN REVEALS 72% COMPATIBILITY. DOES NOT MEET REQUIREMENTS. YOU WOULD MAKE AN INFERIOR DALEK. YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED ONCE WE HAVE EXTRACTED ALL USEFUL KNOWLEDGE."

Just then, two more Daleks entered the room, and Rose was surrounded. She whirled around searching for an escape route, but none presented itself.

"PROCEED TO THE INTERROGATION CELL," the Dalek on her right ordered. Rose flicked her eyes toward the screen again and and saw the gauge was closing in on 95%. The Doctor had show no signs of appearing, and Rose was at a loss. _The Daleks want to turn us into them? But that would make _billions _of them. And anyhow, how would that give them victory over the Time Lords? They'll just kill all the Daleks anyway, and it's not like they can regenerate… _Realisation hit Rose like a ton of bricks. The pieces fell together, and Rose knew that she had to warn the Time Lords. Warn the Doctor too, wherever he was. He was still in danger, and she had no way of communicating with him, no way to let him know how dire the situation really was. And the completion of the energy harvest from the star was nothing compared to the impending collapse of the system. Rose had a feeling that if that star went out, not even the Time Lords could save them. She knew she had a duty to her husband, her child, and her planet, but as she was marched from the control room, she felt the despair settle in. She was only one woman, and he was only one man. One human man, who had had no luck winning over the Time Lords to his cause. She knew deep in her heart that if the Doctor could have, he would have rescued her by now. He would have arrived with the TARDIS, spouting nonsensical facts and figures to distract the Daleks before single-handedly stopping the depletion of the star's energy and sending the monsters back to their prison. But he hadn't. And he couldn't. Rose felt the tears welling up as she remembered how hopeful she had been when she first saw him appear on the holograph. She thought it would be like the last time. Then she remembered that last time had killed him, made him a new man. Perhaps that was his destiny in this parallel universe. To perish fighting the same menace that plagued him from the first - but this time he would not regenerate. Bitter defeat weighed down on her as she walked toward her doom, grieving for the man she had lost the last time and the same man she would now lose for good. And that was when the room exploded and the world turned black.

* * *

><p>Rose opened her eyes. She was lying on her side in the far corner of the room, a good twenty feet away from where she had been standing only seconds before. <em>Or has it only been a few seconds?<em> Looking up, she saw that she was indeed still in the control room of the Dalek ship, but now there were people standing around, all of them looking down at her with surprised looks on their faces. Rose was about to ask who all of these people were when one of them started talking to her. She tried to sit up.

"No, no, just lie back down. You've been unconscious for half an hour, you need to give your head a chance to heal. Your name wouldn't happen to be Rose, now, would it?"

"Yeah," she replied weakly. Her head was pounding so hard she couldn't see clearly, and she could feel hot, sticky blood slowly trickling onto her face from a large gash on her head, which she thought must have been where she had hit it. "And, um, who are you, exactly?"

"We are Time Lords, of the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. We have already had the pleasure of meeting your friend the Doctor, who claims to be one of us. What is all of this about, if I may ask?"

"Oh, um. Yeah," she began. "Well, you see, long story short, he's a half human half Time Lord from another universe." Even trying to say such a short sentence made Rose's headache worsen. She closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the pain. "So, um, where is he?"

"Well," replied one of the other Time Lords, "We don't know. He seems to have left our ship, and we have no idea where he went."

This was just perfect. The Doctor was missing, left without a trace, and here was Rose, halfway across the universe on some Dalek spaceship with only some ruddy Time Lords for company, and-

"Oh my god! The Daleks!" Rose sat up and leaned against the wall, ignoring the screaming agony that this small motion cause her. "We've got to get out of here! Do you guys have a ship, or some sort of -"

"Calm down, it's okay." the first Time Lord reassured her. "The Daleks have been taken care of. They are all dead."

Rose felt as if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders as her anxiety melted away into relief. "How did you kill them?"

"It does not matter. What's more important is -"

"The fact that this system is about to be destroyed and everyone in it is going to die," the Doctor said, entering the room. "Am I right?"

"Doctor!"

"Hello, Rose. Long time no see, eh?" He smiled and winked in her direction. "But like I said, this entire system is going to explode as soon as that star runs out of energy, and unless we can stop it, we're all going down with it."

"That," said the Time Lord, "is exactly why we need to get back to our ship right away. We will return you to your home planet and then return to Gallifrey to report of these Daleks' deaths."

"Or," commented the Doctor sharply, "we could stop the star from collapsing and destroying this entire system."

"And how do you propose we so that, Doctor?" The one speaking spat out the last word, and Rose got the feeling that the Time Lords didn't like the Doctor very much. "It is impossible to prevent destruction at this point, even if we could restore stability to the star."

"Well, now, I always like to think that nothing's really impossible, not if you're clever. And lucky for you, I am. Now, let's just have a look at this..." The Doctor strolled over to the control panel and started poking the screen. Beaming, Rose watched him as he began pacing, muttering to himself under his breath, flailing his arms extravagantly and wildly pushing buttons and levers. _That's my Doctor,_ she thought. _Always the one to come up with a plan,_ she thought. _I bet he never thought he'd get to do this sort of thing again._ He was finally back where he belonged, saving the universe alongside Rose, meeting aliens and stopping disasters. Then she felt the floor buck and her knees buckled, still weak from her last bout of unconsciousness.

"Doctor, any way you could speed things up?" She shouted over the loud rumbling that was starting to drown out her thoughts and the voices of the Time Lords, who were arguing amongst themselves and yelling at the Doctor. She thought she heard the leader say "There is no place in our society for…" but then his voice too was drowned by the creaking metal of the Dalek ship as the star it was orbiting began to collapse on itself and draw the ship toward the infinitely dense black hole forming in its centre.

The leader suddenly broke away from the group and started toward the Doctor as he frantically pressed buttons on the display screen, turning dials while trying to keep his balance in the rocking control room. Rose watched in horror as the rogue Time Lord shouted into the Doctor's ear, and the Doctor's face morphed into an angry glare. Controls temporarily forgotten, the Doctor shouted back at the Time Lord. Though Rose could hear nothing over the shaking of the Dalek vessel, she understood what was happening when the Time Lord leader spun on his heel and staggered to the door. She looked back at the Doctor and saw him running after the Time Lord, his face set in a grim line. He paused to yell something at Rose, but none of his words reached her ears. The destruction of the ship was only moments away, the Doctor was fleeing the room after the Time Lord leader, and the other Time Lords were a combination of lying and sitting on the floor as a result of one extremely powerful jolt. The Doctor was making a strange motion with his arms, and Rose realised he was indicating for her to take over his job. She had no idea what she was supposed to do, but she made her way to the control panel. It was then that she saw the large lever and it clicked that the Doctor needed her to flip it. Feeling a strange sense of deja vu, she gripped the handle and tugged as hard as she could.

Rose struggled unsuccessfully for several moments. She had almost given up on moving it when another pair of hands wrapped around hers and she looked up into the ancient eyes of a young Time Lady. She couldn't have been more than five years older than Rose, but her gaze was wise and kind. And at this moment, she was looking determinedly into Rose's eyes. Rose felt strenght surge into her arms and she and the Time Lady forced the lever to the other side. Just as they reached the other side, the ship gave its biggest jolt yet and the Time Lady was flung to the ground. Rose barely held on to the lever, throwing all her weight on it to prevent it from flipping back. She looked up and saw the Time Lord leader had made it to the door before the Doctor had grabbed his arm and spun him back into the room. The jolt had knocked them both the ground, the Doctor landing partly on top of the Time Lord leader whose arm was still in his grip. Rose and the Doctor locked eyes and his lips formed words.

"Don't. Let. Go."


	13. Chapter 13

The Doctor had every faith in Rose's ability to understand what he needed of her when he went after the Time Lord leader, but seeing her struggling to hold the lever down sent his heart into his throat. Besides the memories the situation dredged up, he knew that this could be it for them. It wasn't like the other universe where they could fly away in his TARDIS after a near death escape from disaster, here they both had to face the fact that they were only human. And while his heroic side had kept them there past the point of no return, deep in his single heart he felt he wasn't the Time Lord he used to be. Maybe he didn't have it right this time, and he had doomed them all. Then she looked into his eyes, and he knew she could do it. He tried to send all his love and strength to her through a look and mouthed the only thing he could think.

"Don't. Let. Go."

With a final crash, the lights flashed then went black. The Doctor disentangled himself from the fallen Time Lord and felt his way towards the control console. Going by touch, he pressed buttons until his ears picked up a gentle hum. Slowly, the lights faded back on to reveal a room of ruffled and bruised Time Lords and one exhausted human. The Doctor rushed to Rose and pulled her off the lever she was still clinging to for dear life. She looked up at him with eyes that sparkled with tears, but also shone with pride and love.

"I didn't let go."

He swept her into a hug, and she clung to him as tightly as she had to the lever moments before. After he gently pulled away, he turned to the large display screen. The gauge that had been slowly creeping up to 100% was all the way back to zero.

"See! Nothing to worry about! Told you I was clever. It just took a little reversal the harvest process to send all that energy back the the first star, which created a power surge large enough to manipulate the Dalek matter-displacement teleports and send the ship back to wherever it came from, all while bringing the second star back here to restore balance to the system and stop the collapse! Just in time, too, by the looks of it. Still got the moves, eh? And _you__**, **_Rose Tyler, were brilliant!" He beamed at his wife. Then he looked directly at the Time Lord leader who had pulled himself to his feet and brushed himself off, and was now looking stern and silent fromt the doorway.

"That was a great risk you took with many lives, _Doctor._" The Time Lord's voice betrayed no emotions, but the Doctor knew that inside he must be seething. In those few moments of chaos before the world settled, the Time Lord had told the Doctor that he was making an executive decision to remove all of them from the Dalek ship and abandon the system. The Doctor had had to stop him before it was too late and there was no chance to reverse the damage the Daleks had done.

"Risk!? What about the risk to this _entire solar system?_ Or to the surrounding systems? You know as well as I do what a black hole would have done. I didn't realise Time Lords allowed for the destruction of entire _galaxies_ now. Oi, what happened to your head?"

He had suddenly noticed a thin stream of blood trickling from behind Rose's ear. She was white as a sheet.

"Oh, that, yeah. Hit it on something, knocked me out. Must have been when the Time Lords first got here. Guess they blew up that Dalek that was gonna kill me."

"You're pale as a ghost, you better sit down. Here." He directed Rose to a chair. "Woah, steady, now," the Doctor said as he caught her by the shoulders to prevent her from hitting the ground.

"I suggest we continue this debate after all injuries have been tended to." A smooth female voice came from behind the Doctor. He looked around to see a Time Lady a little older than Rose with short black hair and timeless eyes.

"Fine. Set up the transport." The Time Lord leader gestured to one of the other Time Lords who stepped up and pulled a device from his pocket. The next thing he knew, the Doctor and Rose were in the control room of the Time Lord ship. The Time Lady that had spoken took Rose's arm and led her away with a reassuring smile at the Doctor. Another Time Lord led him to a room with a bed and several machines and bottles. The Doctor allowed himself to be laid down and gulped down the liquid offered to him. He felt himself drift into a deep, restful sleep, his last thought of Rose and the love in her eyes as she looked at him from across the control room in the Dalek ship.

* * *

><p>When he woke up, he knew immediately something was different. His hands flew to his face, and he felt around. All his minor cuts and bruises from the ordeal had been healed, and he felt energised and refreshed. His brain whizzed faster than ever as he surveyed the room. As he sat up and was about to get out of the bed, someone stepped into the room. Tall and gangly, the Time Lord was wearing a medical robe and moved first to the machines monitoring the Doctor's brain activity and critical levels. As the Doctor watched him, he caught sight of a machine rather like a heart monitor, but with two lines zigzagging across its surface. Then it hit him. <em>Two lines. Two hearts.<em>

He could hear and feel them beating in his chest. He was speechless as the Time Lord faced him and smiled kindly.

"We owe you a debt of gratitude, Doctor. Though _some_ will not admit it, you saved us as well as this system. It is our duty as Time Lords to protect the universe, and you have shown that dedication. The Council voted to restore what was once lost to you, in gratitude. Thank you." The Time Lord then presented the Doctor with some clothes, which he slipped on.

"And where's my wife? Where's Rose?" He was headed for the door before the words left his lips. The Time Lord chuckled good-naturedly and followed him into the hallway, then took the lead as he answered.

"She is well. If you follow me, I will bring you before the Council. You are summoned."

The Doctor followed obediently, but his movements were anxious. The Time Lords had restored his species, but he was worried about how they had dealt with Rose. Humans were such a tiny species to the Time Lords, he wasn't sure they would even know how to treat her wounds or her battered immune system. Then a thought crossed his mind.

"Say, you folks didn't happen to find someone else on board that Dalek ship did you, say, I don't know, a child?"

"All life forms and Time Lord property were transported back to this ship after the crisis was averted." He gave the Doctor a pointed look which meant he knew about the borrowed TARDIS. The Doctor grinned cheekily, but was more puzzled than ever. Perhaps the Daleks were just mistranslating without help from the TARDIS? However, all thoughts of Dalek vocabulary choices disappeared from his brain when he entered the Council Seat. He saw Rose entering through a similar door to his left, and he flew towards her and gathered her in his arms. After breathing in her beautifully familiar Rose-scent, he took her completely healed face in his hands and kissed her sweetly. He then twined her fingers in his and walked boldly to the centre of the square room.

"So, who's in charge here?"

"Doctor. Rose Tyler. Welcome." The smooth female voice was familiar, and the Doctor looked around the crowd of seated Time Lords to find the face of the Time Lady from the Dalek ship.

"On behalf of all Time Lords, we would thank you for the great service you have done our people and this universe. The Daleks who escaped from the Time War had no place here in this galaxy. You have corrected the course of time itself and saved us all. For that, you have our gratitude."

The Time Lords rose to their feet and pressed their hands to the centre of their chests. The sign of reverence was almost overwhelming for the Doctor, who had long ago resigned himself to being the only record of any Time Lord tradition or memory. To see a room full of Time Lords, on a Time Lord ship, and all saluting him. The centuries of torture and darkness melted away and he felt a few tears sliding down his cheek. He lifted his hands and placed them over the centre of his chest as well, directly between his two hearts.

"And now, we have a long journey and much to discuss." The Time Lord leader's voice cut into the Doctor's reminiscing and he looked over at the man who had almost destroyed a galaxy. "Our need to return to the Time War is pressing. Though our communications are still damaged from the battle, the Council members present believe there is a place of import for you when we return. We-"

"What?!" Rose's voice bounced around the walls of the room. "Return? To the _Time War?_ I don't think so! I am returning to _Earth_, thank you very much, and my husband's coming with me!"

"Rose," the Doctor took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Rose, they did something for me. I'm… I'm a Time Lord again. I am one of them."

"I don't care if you're a Slitheen! You're my husband and we are going back to Earth to my mum and dad and Tony and our life! You can't go into the Time War… Doctor, you know what happens. I dunno how they or the Daleks got out or how things work in this universe, but I'm not losing you and I'm not losing them. My family. _Our_ family." Something in Rose's eyes didn't match her fiery tone - love and warmth and peace. He watched as she guided his hands to her stomach. Her words were the only thing he heard, all other sounds drowned by the implications.

"Doctor, I'm pregnant."


	14. Chapter 14

"Doctor, did you hear me? You still in there?" Rose's voice was unsure and she gazed up at her husband with worried eyes. For all her time spent with him, she could no better read his face at the moment than she could the Gallifreyan writing scribbled on the papers he used to leave scattered around the TARDIS. She thought he would have been happy - after all, he was the one who wanted to buy a house and settle down. But now that he was a Time Lord again, who was she to ask him to be a family man, not when the entirety of space and time was at his fingertips. Not to mention his own people, returned to him when he had lived so many years in mourning for them. She couldn't read his face and for the thousandth time, she felt doubt start to creep into her heart. She looked away from the Doctor to hide the tears welling in her eyes. She choked words through her constricted throat, her already thick accent thickening with emotion and becoming almost illegible,

"S'okay though, y'know... I understand if... with them and... Earth isn't... and I... but..."

She heard the Doctor inhale, and she braced herself for his speech.

"Rose, that's... that's **FANTASTIC!**"

Her heart soared. She felt the Doctor's arms wrap around her and pull her into a crushing hug, which ended abruptly as he held her at arms length and apologised for squishing the baby. She broke into a laugh at the sight of his enthusiastic smile and wide eyes, and pulled him back for another hug. He picked her up and spun her around, her giggling and shrieking with joy. As her feet hit the floor again, an alarm started blaring in a nearby room. Rose looked around, confused at how she could have set of such an annoying alarm just by landing on the floor. _I may be pregnant, but I don't weigh __**that **__much!_

The Time Lord leader furrowed his brow and whispered to one of the men standing next to him. The messenger left the room, and the Time Lord leader turned back to the Doctor and Rose.

"The gift we have granted has not been done so lightly. You cannot simply waltz around the universe unchecked and unruled, tarnishing the name of Time Lords and breaking our laws. Whatever universe you come from, actions have consequences and the actions that have occured recently are of no exception. You will be expected to join your people again and stop the menace that threatens every race under our protection."

His stern look would once have sent Rose quivering in fear. But now she had more than just herself, more even than the Doctor. She had her whole family, and there was no way a grumpy old Time Lord was going to **make** her do anything. She drew in a deep breath to tell him just that when the messenger returned to the room. He hurried over to the Time Lord leader and spoke urgently in a low voice. Though he was trying to be discreet, Rose and the Doctor's proximity to the pair meant they overheard the conversation.

"It's the prisoner. We thought he was incapacitated, but somehow he... he..."

"He what?" The Time Lord leader's voice was brusque and unfeeling.

"He seems to have escaped from his containment unit. He is still on sublevel four, but he seems to have a weapon that our technical staff haven't seen before. I'm afraid a deck breach is imminent."

The Doctor's body tensed as he listened, and before Rose could stop him, he was striding over to the whispering pair. Rose looked around at the Time Lords that filled the room, each one peering curiously at the messenger but respectfully keeping silent while their leader had his discussion. She wondered how they could contain themselves. She had so much going on in her head, her life was on a precipice of immense change and they sat there calmly, with the murmurs of their leader and the faint alarm still sounding from down the hall. Then the Doctor's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Oooohhhh, I see what's going on here. Prisoner? You kept one, didn't you? You said you destroyed all the Daleks but you kept one, just one, to bring back with you. What're you gonna do with him, eh? Dissect him? Study him? Hold him hostage? Which one is it? Must be important, if you decided not to exterminate him along with the rest of his kind... oh..." The Doctor's eyes widened and he let his breath escape slowly through his pursed lips. Rose noticed a low murmur begin to rise among the other Time Lords at the news that an enemy remained, and on their very ship. The Doctor's eyes hardened, and he glared at the Time Lord leader, who returned his gaze with a huffy look.

"It _wasn't_ on purpose, was it. Somehow it survived your purge and was transported back with the rest of us. And now you don't know how to keep it contained, and it's fighting its way through this ship right now and you can't figure out how to stop it! And you let these people sit here in ignorance instead of telling them the truth! You put my wife and child in danger and try to convince us to come back to your pointless war while this creature is threatening us! Well thank you very much but no thank you! Come on Rose, we're leaving." The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and marched them toward the door. The other Time Lords were now openly talking amongst themselves, and Rose glanced back at the Time Lord leader. He was in furious conversation with the messenger, simultaneously barking out orders and fending off the multitude of questions being thrown at him by members of the Council. He glanced up and met her eyes briefly and she saw a strange mix of anger, pride, and secret knowledge in his eyes before she rounded the corner with the Doctor and he vanished from view.

* * *

><p>The Doctor was feeling so many emotions at the moment that his hearts were racing, but the foremost one was anger. Anger that the Time Lords, <em>his people<em>, would put his family in danger. In his wildest dreams, he never imagined a reunion like this. But his first priority was getting Rose and their child off the ship and to safety.

"Doctor, I know you're in a hurry and all, but do you think you could maybe explain what's going on here? What kinda danger are we talking about?"

The Doctor slowed so Rose could walk astride him, and he looked into her eyes, so grateful that he had found her safe and that he had the chance to be with her like this again. The last Time Lord and his pink and yellow human... well, he would be the last, once they left the ship and the Time Lords returned to the Time War.

"If this Dalek survived whatever the Time Lords did to it, it means it's something they haven't seen before, something they don't know how to deal with. And now it's wandering around this ship, and could be escaping for all we know, and the Time Lords have no way to fight it. So I'm going to get you as far away from here as possible."

As he spoke, they made their way through the halls of the ship. They passed no one in the halls, presuming they were preoccupied with the escaped prisoner and the alarms still blaring in the distance. The Doctor stopped occasionally to peer at a sign or map posted on the wall, Rose blinking at them confusedly. When they passed the third one, the Doctor knew they were close.

"Doctor, that sign, I-"

"Don't worry Rose, we're almost there." As he spoke, he pushed open a door, revealing a supply room containing a familiar blue box. Rose gasped, and the Doctor looked excitedly and proudly from Rose to his TARDIS, delighted to see her smile at the sight of their old home. She have him a look and he nodded an affirmative. She squealed and ran towards the police box, but at the same time, the Doctor's heart plummeted as he saw a shape move in the shadows.

"**Rose-**" Before she could turn, a deep robotic voice echoed around the room.

"LIFE FORM DETECTED."

The Doctor saw Rose whip around to face Dalek Bas as he wheeled toward her.

"ENEMY LOCATED. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DOWNFALL OF THE DALEKS. YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED. EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

And the Doctor watched helplessly as the laser hit his wife square in the chest and she collapsed backward against the doors of the TARDIS.


	15. Chapter 15

"ROSE!"

The Doctor raced toward his fallen companion, heedless of the threat that still remained to himself.

"DOCTOR. COMFIRMED ENEMY. EXTERMINATE."

The Doctor looked up from cradling Rose in his arms, and the power radiating from his look paused Dalek Bas in his tracks.

"Oh that's right. Exterminate. Like the Time Lords did to the rest of you!" His voice was so full of anger that he wouldn't have been surprised if they could hear him all the way back on earth. "Where is your great army now, eh?! They're gone. And now you've taken the one thing in this universe that matters to me, and you are going to pay. YOU will be exterminated!"

The Doctor didn't know what he was going to do, but he had nothing left to lose. He was about to charge the Dalek head on when he noticed something peculiar. There was a sign on the wall, directly behind the Dalek, some sort of directive for the layout of the ship, but that was not the strange part. The odd thing was what was written on the sign, what he was sure had not been there a moment ago. The bold, white letters spelled out two short words, two words that he didn't think he would ever see again: _Bad Wolf._ Suddenly, the room was suddenly bathed in golden light. The Doctor turned and saw Rose, on her feet again, shining with light, one hand still pressed to the TARDIS, the other outstretched toward the Doctor and his enemy.

"I see it now. This is the end and the beginning. The Bad Wolf returns home when home is gone, and life exists renewed. Dalek, I banish you from this place, from this time, from this universe. You are gone."

A stream of gold light extended from Rose's hand and enveloped the Dalek, which then dissolved into mist as it was transported away from the Time Lord ship, back to its distant origins in the Time War. The Doctor tentatively stepped toward Rose, who turned her face to him and he saw her eyes filled with the spinning Time Vortex. He had no clue if she was still alive or if the Vortex was using her body as a portal. How it even remained in her he had no idea - their very first kiss should have removed it all from her, leaving her safe and clean of the influence of the Time Vortex. She opened her mouth to speak again, and the Doctor waited for the Bad Wolf to assess him.

"Doctor."

With that final word, the glow left the room, Rose's eyes fluttered shut, and she slumped against the door of the TARDIS. The Doctor grabbed her before her head hit the floor and was relieved to feel a shaky breath shudder through her body. He pushed at the door of the TARDIS and found it open for him, though the old key had been removed from around his neck in the hospital bay. He carried Rose's convulsing form into the console room and rested her gently on the jump seat. He found his sonic screwdriver in his breast pocket and fired up the console to do scans when the silence stopped him short. Rose's laboured breathing had stopped. The Doctor dropped to his knees beside her, twining his fingers with hers and looking frantically at her still body.

_This can't be it, not now. Our life is finally coming together, I saved her! I SAVED HER!_

"**I SAVED HER! I! SAVED! HER!**"

The Doctor's voice broke and he stood up, silent and still. His TARDIS hummed quietly, and his two hearts beat in his ears and none of it mattered. The universe had defeated him again. For the first time since arriving in this world, he wished to change places with his double from Rose's universe. To be separate from her but to know she was happy and alive, living in ignorant bliss of the horror that was knowing that she was gone.

The Doctor didn't know what to do with himself. A high pitched wail broke through his shock and he silently begged the TARDIS to stop, that he couldn't bear the grief of two. But the sound didn't stop, and he thought he would go mad from the noise and the tide of emotions flowing through him. Then the wail turned into words.

"DOCTOR! Help me!"

* * *

><p>Rose could feel the fire coursing through her veins, burning her from the inside out. It felt like she had been dipped into a pool of lava and was slowly being melted away. Every nerve in her body screamed in agony.<br>"Doctor!" she cried again.

"Rose, you're ok!" His exclamation rattled her. She was decidedly _not_ ok, and had she been able to talk through the pain, she would have told him just that. She heard him gasp, and the secret that the kind Time Lady who nursed her back to health had whispered in her ear was confirmed as she was blinded by energy swirling around her. The strange awareness she had felt since waking in the hospital bay, the signs on the Gallifreyan ship that Rose could suddenly read. The Doctor might not fully understand yet, but Rose knew without a doubt that she was about to change from the pink and yellow human the Doctor loved so much. But this was not what she remembered from the last time, when her leather-clad, big-eared Doctor changed into a beanpole with pinstripes and wild hair. The energy was concentrated around her stomach and the pain there was becoming unbearable.

"Doctor - what's - it - doing!?" She shoved the words out through teeth ground in pain, trying to prevent another scream from shredding her vocal cords.

" It doesn't make sense Rose! I mean, - you? then the Dalek - and the energy - baby - energy!" Rose watched his eyes get wide and his face start to break out in the grin he always wore when he thought he was being clever. She would have smacked him across the face if she wasn't in immobilizing pain, but at the same time it was oddly comforting to be in crisis mode with the Doctor by her side. It brought back memories.

"Explain," she worked out through gritted teeth. But instead of launching into an incomprehensible babble of explanations as per usual, the Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS, then gently picked up Rose and carried her inside. He couldn't get farther than the console before the energy surrounding her body threatened to scorch him. She saw through hazy eyes as he slowly backed away.

"Rose, listen to me. I know it hurts! But… You can't regenerate while you're supporting another life form, so… so your body is sending your regeneration energy to the baby. For now."  
><em>What?! What does that even mean?<em> She tried to bring her mind back into focus and sure enough, she could feel the child inside her growing. Rose was about to yell at the Doctor again when the fire in her blood was replaced with a painful contraction. The golden light subsided and the Doctor rushed to her.  
>"What do I do?!" Rose asked in desperation.<br>"I don't know! You're having contractions!"  
>"YOU THINK?!"<br>"Well what do you want me to do?!"  
>"Something! Haven't you done this before?"<br>"No! You'd think in 900 years of time and space I'd have seen somebody give birth, but I couldn't even see my first kid's. Old Gallifreyan traditions, you know-"  
>"DOCTOR!"<br>_Honestly_, she thought, _how did Mum do this twice?_ But then, she supposed her mother hadn't also been dying from both a Dalek laser and a burning Time Vortex at the time. The hours melted away and Rose wondered if it would ever end, when she heard the Doctor exclaim over the sound of her own voice. Quieting, she listened to a shrill cry and saw the Doctor lifted a tiny infant in his arms. Wrapping the child in his coat, he handed it to Rose, who was now lying silently on the ground.  
>"Rose, it's a boy!" he told her, smiling so wide that she thought his face might just tear. Slowly, she looked down into the face of her son. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Exhausted, she handed the baby to the Doctor and was about to sit up when she felt her blood begin to boil.<br>"Doctor, get away!" He did as she said. Her fingertips and toes started tingling, and within seconds the sensation had swept through her whole body like wildfire. Her head was forced backwards and as she stood up, the world erupted into golden light.

* * *

><p>The Doctor stood back, helpless, watching as the form of his wife was engulfed in glowing energy. While he couldn't see her clearly, he himself had done this enough times to know that she was in pain. <em>It's okay, Rose, it'll be over in a minute, just hang in there.<em> He hated to see her suffer any more than she had already, but he also knew that this had to happen for her to survive.

The whole thing only lasted about thirty seconds total, and soon the swirling mist disappeared, leaving just the three of them alone on the TARDIS. Stumbling a bit, Rose made her way over to the Doctor, who was examining her new form.

"WHAT?!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Rose, panic rising in her voice.

"Nothing, it's just… You're ginger!"

"What?"

"Your hair! Why do you get to be ginger? I've always wanted to be ginger!"

"Doctor! Is now really the time?"

"Well, I suppose… But it's just not fair! Otherwise, though, you look exactly the same. I guess after the baby there wasn't enough energy left to give you a whole new body, just heal your old one."

"Doctor, the baby! Is he okay? Let me have him!"

"Well, there's no need to shout! Here," said the Doctor, handing the infant to Rose, who took him and started crying.

"He's beautiful."

"Yes he is," the Doctor said softly, his eyes watering as well. "So," he said quickly, brushing away the tear on his cheek. "What should we name him?"

Rose thought for a minute. "William," she said finally. "William David Tyler."

"William. I like it," declared the Doctor. He peered at his son, so tiny and helpless, and his hearts erupted in a love that he didn't think could ever be matched. "Hello, William. Welcome to the universe, little buddy."

* * *

><p>After taking a long soak in a bathroom that she had found while wandering the halls of this new TARDIS, Rose approached the centre of the control room where the Doctor was standing. She had taken a shower and discovered that he had been right: even after regeneration, she looked exactly the same, aside from the sudden change in hair colour. Even, she had been surprised to discover, scars that she has since childhood still remained.<p>

"So," she said to her husband, who was pushing buttons and flipping switches on the control panel. "I was just thinking. How on earth are we gonna explain all this to Mum and Dad?"

He laughed. "Well, I suppose the hair would be easy enough. The kid, not so much." He glanced over to the corner, where their recently born son was lying asleep, cleaned and wrapped up in a baby blanket that the Doctor had "found in a closet somewhere", but Rose suspected that it was a bit more personal and wouldn't put it past this TARDIS to manage to produce some of the Doctor's old things. Rose walked over to the child and, careful not to wake him, picked up the baby in her arms and began to rock him back and forth.

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out."

The Doctor nodded and threw a few levers dramatically.

"You ready to go meet your family, William?" Rose whispered to her sleeping son. She felt a familiar jolt, and the TARDIS engines roared to life.

When they landed back on Earth, about a block away from the house, Rose turned to the Doctor and asked, "So, how come I'm alright? I mean, after you first regenerated you passed out and slept for near 12 hours."

"Well, I expect you don't need to, as you only really half regenerated. Since most of the energy went to William here, the rest of it was all used up on you, so there's none left over." Rose was relieved to hear this. She didn't fancy the idea of spending the day unconscious in her bedroom.

As they approached the house, the Doctor carrying the baby, Rose started to imagine how her mother would react to the situation. Whatever happened, she was sure there would be a lot of shouting involved.

Fortunately, she didn't have much time to worry. They arrived at home in minutes, and Rose reached the door first and grabbed the doorknob.

"What's wrong?" asked the Doctor, when after a few seconds she had still not opened the door.

"Nothing. I'm just enjoying these last few moments of peace before Mum finds out what's happened." She turned the knob and stepped into the house. "Mum?"

She heard footsteps approaching, and an agitated cry of "What?" before her mother entered the room.

"My god, Rose, what have you done to your hair?"

"Yeah, I'll get to that in a minute. Mean time, you may want to sit down." Unfortunately, her warning proved to be too late.

"What's that the Doctor's got? Oh god." Jackie stepped back in horror and brought a hand to her mouth. "Is that a baby? YOU'VE GONE AND KIDNAPPED A BABY?!"

"No, we haven't! Mum, this is, er, this is…"

"Your grandson," offered the Doctor. "William."

Jackie froze, completely dumbfounded. "What the hell are you two on about?" she said finally.

"Like I said, you may want to sit down." They moved to the kitchen, and, slowly, Rose and the Doctor told her the whole story.


	16. Epilogue

Rose Tyler sat in the kitchen of her little London home one summer night, carefully spooning bites of applesauce into her eight month old son's mouth.

"There you are, Will. All finished now?" she said as he swallowed the last mouthful. "Come on, let's get you all cleaned up for Daddy when he gets home." She picked the infant up out of his high chair and carried him over to the sink, gently placing him on the counter beside it. The baby giggled and squirmed as the cold, wet cloth touched his skin, and his face twisted into a ridiculous smile. Rose laughed.

"Well, we can't have any of that, now can we?" she told her son. As she was wiping the last of the leftover drool and food off of his face, she heard the front door open and close.

"Look who's here!" exclaimed Rose to the child, still perched on the countertop. "Daddy's home!"

"Hey kiddo," the Doctor said, and Rose handed little William over to his father. "How was he tonight?"

"Really good, he actually ate all of his food without knocking over the bowl. I was beginning to think he'd taken after Tony in that regard."

"Speaking of Tony, you don't think he would mind spending some quality time with little Will here, do you?"

Rose grinned. "This doesn't happen to have anything to do with aliens, now, does it?" Her tongue was poking through her teeth the way it always did when she was trying not to laugh.

"Well," replied the Doctor, sneaking a quick glance at the large blue box that occupied the greater part of the living room, "I didn't think it would hurt to go on a quick trip, you know, just to have some fun for the weekend. But, you know, if you don't want-"

"You know what?" Rose interrupted, her words aimed towards the child, which she took back into her arms. "I think Daddy's offering to show you your first planets."

"What? You want William to come? Are you sure?"

"Of course I am," she said back to him. "He's already, what, eight months old and never yet travelled in time? I mean, you practically aren't a Tyler 'til you've done that at least twice." The Doctor laughed.

"Alright then." He leaned down and kissed his son on the top of the head. "You ready to have your mind blown, kiddo?"

"Just promise me we'll go somewhere that we won't get exploded or kidnapped or anything like that. Is there anywhere safe, you know, just to visit?"

The Doctor thought for a moment. Then, smiling down at his wife, he answered.

"I never did get to show you Barcelona, did I?"

**And there we have it! I hope you all have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have writing it. And a huuuuge thanks to everyone who reviewed (especially lizzyd710, whose enthusiastic reviews were always fun to read). While I'm afraid this story has to come to an end, my writing does not! If anyone has any ideas or prompts for me, just leave a review, and I'll write any that I like. Until next time, my friends, geronimo! And always remember that bowties _are_ cool.**


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